Warblers (Phoenicurct, Sw.) Nothing can be more beautiful or wonderful than
the manner in which Nature preserves her relations, amid the most astonishing
variety, and the most extraordinary combinations.—S.
[41.] 3. Orpheus pelivox. (Swainson.) The Cat-bird.
Ge n u s , Orpheus? Sw ain so n . (Zool.Joum., iii., 167.)
Muscicapa Carolinensis. Lin n ., i., 328, No. 18.
Cat Fly-catcher. P e n n . Arct. Zool., ii., p. 388, No. 272.
Muscicapa Carolinensis. La t h . Jnd., ii. p. 483, sp. 64.
_ Turdus felivox. Vie il l o t . Ois. de I'Atn., ii., pi. 67, p. 10.
Cat-bird ( Turdus lividus). W il s o n , ii., p. 91, pi. 14, f. 3.
Turdus felivox. B o nap. Syn., p. 75, No. 95.
The Cat-bird, so named from the strong resemblance which its voice bears to
the plaintive mewing of a kitten, is common throughout the United States in summer,
but does not appear to wander very far north. We did not observe it higher
than the fifty-fourth parallel of latitude ; and, as it is a very familiar bird, it is not
probable that more than stray individuals could have visited the districts through
which we travelled, without having attracted our notice. It winters on the confines
of the Gulf of Mexico, arrives in Georgia towards the end of February, in the
second week of April reaches Pennsylvania, and in the beginning of May it is
seen in New England. It does not reach the banks of the Saskatchewan until
the end of May, later than most of the other summer visitors. Wilson informs
us, on the authority of the first settlers in the Genesee country, that the Cat-bird,
in its migrations, keeps pace with the progress of agriculture, and that they had
been several years in their new settlements before he made his appearance
amongst them. The want of cultivation may probably be the barrier to his
migrations northwards, and not the severity of the season ; for the summer in the
fur-countries is fine and warm. The country is more open about Carlton House,
and cultivation is carried to a greater extent there than in any other part north of
Lake Superior which we visited, and there only did we see the Cat-bird. We
should expect to find it, however, in still greater numbers at the colony of
Osnaboyna, on the Red River, where the ground is now cultivated by several hundred
settlers ; and it would be highly interesting were any resident there to note
the arrival of birds known to have a predilection for the vicinity of man, and previously
strangers The Cat-bird biuni ltdhsa itt sq unaerstte rin. a bush or low thicket, forming the outside with
small twigs, grass, and dry leaves, and lining it with black fibrous roots. The
eggs are a little more than an inch long, and have a peculiar deep tint, intermediate
between bluish-green and verdigris-green. In Pennsylvania two or three broods
are raised in a season. Wilson, with his usual felicity, has drawn a vivid picture
of the anxiety which this bird displays for the safety of its young. Its distress,
when it supposes them to be in danger, is evinced by the most expressive gestures
and loud cries. The same author tells us, that the male is one of the earliest
of the Pennsylvanian songsters, beginning generally before the break of day, and
hovering from bush to bush with great sprightliness, when there is scarcely light
to distinguish him. His notes are more remarkable for singularity than for
melody, and consist of short imitations of other birds and other sounds; but, his
pipe being deficient in clearness and strength of tone, his imitations fail where
theWse ea rpel arceeq utihsiiste s. peHciees fiene dtsh ep rpinrceispeanltl yg eonnu fsr,u uitnsd.—er Rt-he belief that it is an aberrant
example; but its precise relations still require much study. We are at a
loss to know why it should have the curious distinctions of bright rufous under
tail coverts, an unspotted plumage, and a black head. It may, however, be
remarked, that as the genus Orpheus, beyond all question, is one of the preeminent
types of the whole family, so it is natural to expect it would contain representations
of every other division or sub-family, even in the narrow confines of its
own generic circle. That this suspicion has some foundation, we may observe,
that our Orpheus longiroslris typifies one of the sub-families ; and we suspect that
0 felivox represents the Brachypodinm ; for it is only in that group we find birds
which are particularly marked by the bright colours of their under tail coverts.
Many of these species, like the Cat-bird, throw themselves into the most violent
and unusual agitations; their plumage, also, is never spotted. We have,
moreover in our Museum, a Brachypus, from Sumatra, apparently undescribed,
which, with the exception of the rufous feathers, is clothed in the same coloured
plumage as 0. felivox, the whole bird being slate-grey, with the crown and tail
black.—Sw.