Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-07-30
HE'S A JOKER IN FEATHERS.
Tricks Tint the Cntbird Takes De-
Jight i'm Playing.

AZ a young woman and a young man
were walking across the upper emu "i
Central Park one morning last Weeh
their attention was attracted by whih-
jne voice I'm thicket beside the pain
that seemed 10 be calling them
"Sa-a-y, za-a-ay. sa-a-ay,' II seen'en u
repeat The young man. VINO hdi per"
ven, d,enlv Interested I'm what his com
pauion was saying. turned WIN 80.
rs one who thought himself guNed mlhn'
40 TIE Young woman laughed cheeIiiy
when she saw him start, and said'
"Don't YOU know that voice? It's the
,,rd clown. as ] call him, but the bird
,hqrus can him the catbird, anu long
ATTN name that don't mean anything
ma nobody can't remember. Wait ana
xeV see him. You may think me SUI
,crst.tiocs. but there is something IN
SAMMY about that birds knowledge ana
lo.a-s. DO you know 1 believe he saw
ron were stupid enough 10 be very mdch
,tsovh-d ir what ] was saying, ana just
neoW.l O. wake you up.
Tho tv-o sat on q bench and kept very
1uiet for q minute of TWO. Ihen' Win
rr01fsious nutter, q email slaie-coiOred
1i-l with a particularly black cap on
ais head. alghted on limb or a bush
A. The edee Of the ticket, flew thence
10 the asphalt walk, where he landed
verv hard. and jumped UP as II he had
-ebounded. Then he cooked his mead,
Srst 10 one side and then 10 the oiher,
nook his wings clear Of his body, closed
,hrm again. spread his long tall In fan
fashion and shut It up again.
what kind OF dress for clown DO you
rail- that?" asked the young man.
Just wait; you haven't seen 1t an
replied the girl with chuckie, ana then
IS # 10 please her, the bird flew up 10
} branch. alightng with his back 70 inc
,ouple watching him. The limb swayed
ma the bird tilted over, with his long
.ail in the air.
"Jeev said the young man, hes dresseu
"a mourning. with a red patch on ms
trousers" Both the spectators iausheu'
mi the bird turned around instantly
rhn he spread his legs bit, dropped ms
wings iiirted his tail up and down. anu
Blld once more:
"Sa-a-ay! za-a-ay! sa-a-ay!
Great show, amt it?' said the giri.
'TIe knew very well We were iaushlhs "'
him" $1,000.
Looks like II. Get on TO the dance
The bird was jumping up and down ll
the place where he stood, but after the
fhird iump he turned and disappeared Ike
a hlack flash into the brush. The youhs
connie on the bench waited for hair an
hour for him 10 return, but ne was a""!
on another engagement, ana th-y saw HO
more of him. at least on that occasion
Mean time the girl told the young man
lot OF facts about the bird
TIME OF COMING.
.The catbird," she said, comes from
AWAY south, Florida and beyond, every
spring. and reaches the park mere sohi'
time In April. There's Il young man over
An the Museum Of Natural History who
keeps a diary Of birds. and can tell th'
exact day on which the catbird has ar
rived every year for a long time past, il
Won should get interested in the mat
ter. Anyhow, one day you'n be CROSSING
the park with your oVercoat buttohed am
hands in your pocket, and won't see any
thing but robins and sparrows. The mex
dav. maybe. it'il be SO warm you'll Wist
would left your coat at home. ana you
sit down in the shade 10 ian yourselI, aH'
then. with Whisk OF his tail, the cdtbir,
will come out TO say 'howdy' 10 you
yhere'n be "a lot Of other birds around a
the same time. and some with such gor
geous colors that If you were looking fol
dne birds you'd be sure TO give them al
your attention. For instance, there's
yelyety black little chap with bright sal
mon patches on his wings and tall
lovely contrast OF color-called the red
start He'd make your eyes dance but al
he knows Is how to catch flies and sit OF
a limb and say, Sweet sweet! sweet! IL
a namby,pamby way, while his wiz
builds the nest and gets ready for house
keeping.
.'The catblrd Is not so. He's got sense
and he's the boss comedian Of his tribe
Did you notice what fuss he made wheI
ne first appeared? All right. one day
I WAS In the park here watching dozer
sparrows that were snarling and hghtini
over a biscuit. While they rumpleC
themselves over the spells there came
catbird, with just such q iiutter. plum
in the middle OF the lot, screaming a
re came. Whew. You should have seel
'em scatter"
Carried or the biscuit himself, eh?'
fald the young man.
mo. he didn't Catbirds lives on In
scots and berries. He did IL just for
joke on the sparrows. You know what
lot OF sparrows there are around the oil
stone lookout or fort or whatever II is NJ
at the head OF the park on top Of tn
hill? Yes2 Wen. they nest there--hun
drcds OF them, l guess. One day / wa
10 there, about the first time the bah,
sparrow Of the spring began TO leave IN
nest While ! was thinking I'd like I
strange the whole flock al once. l say
q catbird slip under a bunch OF leave
right az the corner Of the fort. The mex
minute a terrible whining and screech
ing came out OF that hrush-for all IN
world like baby sparrow that some on
was eating alive. was sure the catbir
WAS killing one Of the little beasts. An