1166 466 
CATBIRDS KILLED 
Se) 1 wee wy se & we is 
SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 
DATE OF KILL 
Fig. 15.— Numbers of catbirds killed at central Illinois 
television towers during night migration. The numbers on the 
graph lines indicate the total numbers of specimens picked up 
of all species. 
CATBIRD 
WINTER DISTRIBUTION RECORDS 
DEC.| —MAR.| 
Yet anc el ll 
@ 1950 — fans Ze EHS, 
| ° ge € | 
A 1900 -1950 ee en ES, 
WHITESIQ r Gees aa tee jv gpel 
BEFOR fe 
B FO E 1900 oe) Tease Tt DALL 
rox HENRY | OUT ALY, % a 
=I BOY 
Ue NAM 
pe eee endl ac ag alee 
[nl onl LIVINGSTON aly 
= = 
an a Pee 
Teal ee eel 
peek p~oogyon FULTON TAZEWELL Man EN ForRO L_ =) 
Radi sae Ald Fe dea 
= 1s MASON ae ee 3 
r seared ai Lae VERMILION | 
Oams Pa lates MBAARD a ! 
ie _ uM 
— T mac — —| 
——-! ea 
MORGAN SANGAMON DOUGLAS if 
PIKE sorry jourtRmeLS —__ Daan | 
asl ars camel ake COLES ‘ 
TH 
ree = SHELoeyY x — 
CLARK 
g MaCOUpIN | MONTGOMERY 'UMBERLANO| 
= 
Ol versey | | [ = 
z 
ot oes pire lassen | 
Sore | CRAWFORO. 
MADISON aS 
z Y 
es ecu Y 
es betacar tas 
S MARION 
CLINTQN i 
« S 7 i 
ST. CLam ” 
waewes a) oa 
WASHINGTON z(s 
MONROE JEFFERSON 2 
= hy 
DOLPH PERRY 4 WRIte 
Frenetmn nase 
2 J 
a 
JACI 
} WILLIAMSON | SALINE GALLATIN, 
! ee 
UNION. ~J{JOHNSON |P 0 PE aa! 
Scale 
"0__0 10 20 30 <0 Somiles wt 4, 
: 
a i. 4. 
wr 'S 
er = 
: 
Fig. 16. — Winter records for the catbird in Illinois. 
22 
CATBIRD - FOOD 
HYMENOPTERA 
(ESP. ANTS) 
LEPIDOPTERA 
(CATERPILLARS) 
DIPTERA 
(CRANE FLIES) 
COLEOPTERA 
(GROUND BEETLES, 
WEEVILS ) 
HEMIPTERA 
(BURROWERS ) 
ORTHOPTERA 
(GRASSHOPPERS) 
ARACHNIDA 
(SPIDERS) 
MYRIAPODS 
MILLIPEDES 
% OF TOTAL 
FRUITS SVeOR, 
BLACKBERRIES, 
CHERRIES; 
ELDERBERRIES ) 
MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT 
Fig. 17. — Food habits data on the catbird from the study 
of Forbes (1880). Percentages represent the part of the tota 
food identified in the stomachs of a number of catbirds ex 
amined each month. 
| 
food for the birds, and at one pond the predation i 
drastic effect on the dragonfly population. There are m¢ 
other recent studies on the catbird’s food. Our only im 
formation on the food of nestlings is from our observa 
tion that older nestlings were fed black cherries, especially 
in southern Illinois. There are no data on the relative 
availability of different foods. | 
Catbirds are readily attracted to feeders. Brintnal 
(1918) and Jackson (1905) reported catbirds eating 
suet, and even feeding it to fledglings. Jacques (1927) 
noted that catbirds were attracted to fruit, especially cu 
apple, and Schafer (1917) mentioned the catbird’s fond 
ness for walnut (jJuglans sp.) kernels. 
Longevity 
The oldest Illinois catbird on record was a 
banded by Bartel (1967) at Blue Island. It was at 
6 years and 9 months of age. There have been no pop 
tion studies on the average life expectancy of catbirds. 
Bartel (1962) found that catbirds disappeared fro 
a Blue Island area in 1959 following an application © 
heptachlor. He felt that the catbird population was als 
