disappeared amid a chorus of laughter.

"What mammy has said about the Mockingbird in his summer home is true.
As a visitor who sometimes stays and builds, he strays east and north as
far as Massachusetts, and westward to Colorado and California. If he
were not a hardy bird who sometimes raises three broods a year, I'm
afraid the race would come to an end, because so many nestlings are
taken each year and sold for cage birds."

The Mockingbird

Length about ten inches.

Upper parts gray, but dusky-brownish on the wings, which have a large
white spot. Three white feathers on each side of the tail, which is
blackish. The males, who sing, have more white on the wings and tail
than the females, who are songless.

Under parts whitish.

Sings his own true song, a rapid, sweet melody, heard best after
twilight; but has many comic songs of whatever nonsense comes into his
head.

A Citizen of the southern United States, often straying northward to New
England.

A Ground Gleaner, Tree Trapper, and Seed Sower.

THE CATBIRD

When the Doctor said "Catbird" the children began to imitate the various
calls this famous garden bird utters, for by this time they were
familiar with all his tricks and manners. Some of the imitations were
very good indeed, if not musical. "Miou! Zeay! Zeay!"

"That is all very well in its way," said the Doctor, "but which one of
you can imitate his song?"

"I've often tried," said Rap, "but somehow he always gets ahead of me,
and I lose the place."

"Listen! There is one singing now in the grape arbor, and he has a nest
somewhere in the syringa bushes," said Olive.

The Catbird was not alarmed when he saw that five pairs of eyes were
turned upon him. He seemed to know that the secret of his nest was in
safe keeping, flew out to the pointed top of a clothes-pole, and
continued his song, jerking his tail up and down and showing the rusty
feathers beneath, as if this motion had something to do with the force
of his music. "I can hear the words as plain as anything," said Nat;
"if I only understood his language!"

"That is the difficulty," said the Doctor; "if some kind bird would
write a dictionary for us we should soon learn a great many strange
things."

"Roger, the gardener, says that Catbirds are bad things and if he had
his way he would shoot them. He says they bite the strawberries and
grapes and things, even when he is looking at them," said Dodo.

"There is some truth in what