104 
TURDUS LIVIDUS. 
])articular favourites with the farmer. But the c** 
bird has frequently the advantage of the fiirmcr, h/ 
snatching off the first fruits of these delicious prodiiO' 
tions; and the farmer takes revenge, by shooting hii* 
down with his gun, as he finds old hats’ windmills, ao® 
scarecrows, are no impediment in his way to thes® 
forbidden fruits; and nothing but this resource — tl’,® 
ultimatum of farmers as well as kings — can restrain h** 
visits. The hoys are now set to n atch the cherry tre®* 
with the gun ; and thus commences a train of prepidic®*' 
and antipathies, that commonly continue through I'f®' 
Perhaps, too, the common note of the cat bird, so 
the nievring of the animal whose name it bears, a®® 
who itself sustains no small share of prejudice, 
homeliness of his plumage, and even his familiarity, 
Itroverbially known to beget contempt, may also cO®' 
tribute to this mean, illiberal, and persecuting prejudie®'" 
hut, with the g'enerous and the gmod, the lovers of nati*®* 
and of rui-al charms, the confidence which this famil'®^ 
bird places in man by building in his garden, uiid'’'^ 
his eye, the music of his song, and the interesti®? 
playfulness of his manners, will ahrays be more tha® * 
recompense for all the little stolen morsels he snatch®”' 
The cat bird measures nine inches in length ; at • 
small distance he appears nearly black ; but, on a clo”®'' 
e.vamiuation, is of a deep slate colour above, lightest a" 
the edges of the primaries, and of a considerably lig*‘f^ 
slate colour below, e.\ce|>t the under tail-coverts, whi® , 
are very dark red; the tail, nhich is rounded, a® 
upper part ot the head, as well as the legs and bill, ®^„ 
black. The female ditfers little in colour from J®^ 
male. Latham takes notice of a bird exactly resembl>®r 
this, being found at Kamtschatka, only it wanted t® 
red under the tail ; probably it might h.ave beeo 
young bird, in nhich the red is sr-arcely observable-^ 
This bird has been very im|)roperly classed arop®* 
the flycatchers. As he never seizes his prey on wi®?’ 
has none of their manners, feeds principally on 
and seems to differ so little from the thrushes, I l^i® 
he more properly belongs to the latter tribe, tha® * 
