| Show of Doors in the West ft Natural History in the Rocky Mountain Plateau i by J- H. of Nature Study in the Uni of Utah CATBIRD AND MOCKING walk along lanes th just out-ny western we see noisy bird almost as a but more md with a long active ing in and out of the nd uttering several sounds like the i a This ner-isy bird is the the same bird st as in the though estic in its habits here Amusing is an amusing and ing it is not but one of singers before y preference before it is sings as partial success to imi-notes of other n the hush of evening 1 renders a more thrush-like and n drowsy legend is that this 5 once a gray cat and living by devouring the that nest in low jj The birds held a conga and besought the gods ove this the cat into a doomed scream like a kitten is now a good Brother everywhere detective and of the approach by making a great R This bird will nest only IK and and loves to watch bird- at its it isn't a Brigand is the northern K and and representative of the it is of the same and an imitator of other bird s notes as well as of various sounds from a cartwheel to the song- of a He is of sombre top of head and tail sooty THE CATBIRD The like the is a lover of and delights to make its home in a tangle of wild and where it is safe from attack and can find its favorite food in It is found throughout the United States west to the Rocky and occurs also in Idaho and and extends northward into the British It winters in the Southern Mexico and Central Reports from the Mississippi valley indicate that the catbird is sometimes a serious annoyance to fruit The reason for such reports may be found in the fact that on the prairies fruit-bearing which afford so large a of this bird s are conspicuously With the settlement of this region comes an extensive planting of and small-frit which shelter and nesting sites for the as well as for other There is in consequence a large increase in the numbers the supply of native fruits corresponding gam of the birds but no Under these accustomed to unon Tat which I they natural were than for the birds to turn tb cultivated fruits for Seir more The remedy is ed fruits can be protected the wild species which are pre-by the simple We expedient of planting i in tt San preferred to any cultivated fruit that be al slate under tail dark eyes The bird is eight or nine inches The catbird sings in a lawless and quotes from and other The yowl of the cat is thrown in also the croak of the frog and the harsh squawk of the Yet the catbird's music is all his he merely suggests the songs of other always livering them his own song is and although and in He is a bird with an uneasy disposition shifting his dodging between bobbing his tail up and raising his puffing out his whenever you His only note at such a time is the harsh and nasal so suggestive of the The eggs of the catbird are 3 to 5 in the of a deep bluish The Closely related to the catbird and the thrasher is the celebrated It has grayish drab upper wings and tail wings with large white-tipped wing and ter- with whitish underpays washed with clay Unfortunately for us America's most famous singer is found only in the extreme southern parts of our plateau This bird is the favorite among the new world not alone because of his beautiful his powers of his pretty and elegant but also because he loves to come to human society and to build his nest near to the habitations of He imitates perfectly the songs of other birds and has such beautiful songs of his own as to equal the nightingale of Europe as a Like the latter he sings far into the but also at all other This Longfellow has de- scribed as of delirious j. to which the and the and the seemed silent to Plaintive at first were the notes and then soaring to madness Seemed to follow or guide revel of frenzied Single notes were then in sorrowful slow lamenta- tion having gathered them he flung them abroad in deri- As after a a gust v wind through the tree t Shakes down the rattling rain in in a crystal shower on the says Bai- almost sings with his He has a pretty trick lifting them as his song a gesture that not only serves to show off the white wing but gives a charming touch of an almost sublimated fervor to his love His fine frenzy almost carries him off his In Texas these birds are so common and imitate the other singers so perfectly that you hear a new bird and Hurry through the brush to see at he end of your there sits a calm |
