Cat-bird

Cat-bird (Turdus or Galeoscoptes carolinensis), an American thrush, of the same group as the mocking-bird, which it resembles in its vocal powers. Its name refers to its mew-like cry when disturbed. It feeds on many kinds of fruit and berries, also on worms and insects; builds a large nest of dry twigs, weeds, &c., without any attempt at concealment, in a bush or tree, often in the immediate vicinity of human habitations, and shows extraordinary boldness in the defence of its young. It is a bird of passage, making its way northward in spring through Georgia and Carolina as far as Massachusetts. In winter it migrates southwards, and stray specimens have been seen as great rarities on the continental coast of the North Sea.