102 
TURDUS LIVIDUS. 
behave. In a minute or two, the male made his ap- 
proaches, stooped down, and looked earnestly at the 
strange eggs, then flew off to his mate, who was not far 
distant, with whom he seemed to have some conversa- 
tion, and instantly returning, with the greatest gentle- 
ness took out both the thrasher’s eggs, first one and 
then the other, carried them singly about thirty yards, 
and dropt them among the bushes. I then returned 
the two eggs I had taken, and, soon after, the female 
resumed her place on the nest as before. 
From the nest of another cat bird I took two half 
fledged young, and placed them in that of another, which 
was sitting on five eggs. She soon turned them both 
out. The place where the nest was not being far from 
the ground, they were little injured, and the male, 
observing their helpless situation, began to feed them 
with great assiduity and tenderness. 
I removed the nest of a cat bird, which contained 
four eggs, nearly hatched, from a fox grape vine, and 
fixed it firmly and carefully in a thicket of briers close 
by, without injuring its contents. In less than half an 
hour I returned, and found it again occupied by the 
female. 
The cat bird is one of our earliest morning songsters, 
beginning generally before break of day, and hovering 
from bush to bush, with great sprightliness, when there 
is scarce light sufficient to distinguish him. His notes 
are more remarkable for singularity than for melody. 
They consist of short imitations of other birds, and 
other sounds ,* but, his pipe being rather deficient in 
clearness and strength of tone, his imitations fail where 
these are requisite. Yet he is not easily discouraged, 
but seems to study certain passages with great perse- 
verance ; uttering them at first low, and, as he succeeds, 
higher and more free, nowise embarrassed by the pre- 
sence of a spectator even within a few yards of him. 
On attentively listening for some time to him, one can 
perceive considerable variety in his performance, in 
which he seems to introduce all the odd sounds and 
quaint passages he has been able to collect. Upon the 
