Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-16
THE CATBIRD,
Although Frying Gossip and a
Mocker. He Has Some Merits

From the New Y,rk Sun
The catbird is the gossip of the bird COM
munity. His correct name is not catbird
but black-capped thrush-this latter how
ever, being seldom used. OF all the peep
ing, prying. tattling scandal mongers in tn,
feathered race he is chief His dark gray
coat with the black trimmings runs very
little chance of being faded by the sun
shine. He is like an old maid who takes
her evening observations undetected from
darkened windows. He prefers the shade
and shelter Of tangled thickets hedge rows
and bushy' trees. Here he turks lust near
enough the edges TO be invisible from with
out and squalls and jeers at the passerbv
To observe his methods go and sit down
In the darkest part of one of his favoTit.
thickets and remain still; very soon YOU
will hear fiirt of wings close at hand
mere he stands on twig, looks at YOU
out OF one eye, tries the other, hons TWO
tWigs nearer, droops his wings, dirts his
tail, yah he says. Pleased with tb,,
sound of his own voice he repeats the re-
marx, accompanied by various gestures.
the whole performance apparently intended
to impress you with the idea that YOU
needn't think you can come in there and
doze and lie around without being found
out and having other people told all about
it, Continuing the theme, he tells you
just how lazy and shiftiess YOU are also
that he has nest In that thicl1et with
four green eggs in II, and If you value your
that you are a queer-looking thing. any
how.
Now, all these sayings may be true but
he squalls them out In such an irritating
way that IT would try the patience of a
saint. If you take his advice and leave
he follows you, keeping out of sight. hut
calling after you until you have vanished
from the neighborhood and still talking
about you for some time after you have
diSappo AIRED. If no human victim is around
he takes advantage of some lesser mem
Der of the animal kingdom. A cat, II must
be admitted with some justice, receives a
fearful calling down, and even an honest
dog cannot sniff around the bushes with
out having his character called into qucs-
ton.
The oatbird's close affinity to the hooking
bird is displayed in many ways. He imi-
tates the robin fairly well. His rendering
OF the croak of the crow blackbird is per-
feet. Some notes of the blue jay are well
done, but the bobolink is beyond his regis
ter, and when he strives to reproduce the
aria of that sprightly songster he makes
a most dismal failure of ii, usually end
ing with a harsh squawk, as though his
efforts awakened his own sense of humor.
He is not all gossip and ridicule, however
Sometimes he forgets his meanness, and
toward twilight-the time of day that be-
longs to thrushes-wll perch in a tree and
with his memories of other bird songs,
filled in with thrills and mellow variations
will give concert of no mean order
In some other respects he is not a bad
fellow. To be sure, he talks too much
but he atones for this fault in other ways
He kills many worm and noxious insect
in the garden and orchard He gives the
warning against cats and squirrels and
other enemies that prowl in the hedges and
thickets, and so far as appearance goes,
there is no heater, trimmer better-gruom-
ed bird around the yard or garden.