THE YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. 253 



ONE of the sub-families into which the Fly-catchers are divided is known by the name of 

 VireonincE, or GKEENLETS, on account of the constant presence of green in some part of their 

 plumage. They are all little birds, and are confined to the New World, inhabiting America, 

 Brazil, Guiana, and the West Indian islands. They are mostly insect feeders, though they 

 will vary their diet with fruits, berries, and other vegetable food. Many species of Greenlets 

 are known to ornithologists, and some of them are remarkable for their eccentric habits and 

 their curious mode of nesting. 



THE YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT of America is well worthy of notice, as it possesses a very 

 prettily colored plumage and elegant form, and at the same time is one of the most eccentric- 

 ally behaved of the feathered creation, even surpassing in the whimsical oddity of its manners 

 the mirth-provoking evolutions of the demoiselle crane. 



It is a partially migratory bird, having rather an extensive range in its native country, 

 and passing from north to south according to the season of the year and the warmth or inclem- 

 ency of the weather. According to Wilson, it arrives in Pennsylvania about the first week in 

 May, and departs for the south in the month of August. As is usually, if not invariably, the 

 case with birds, its migrations are restricted to a narrow line, which runs almost due north 

 and south, and the male birds always make their appearance before their mates. Of the habits 

 of this bird, Wilson gives the following interesting description : 



"When he has once taken up his residence in a favorite situation, which is almost always 

 in close thickets of hazel, brambles, vines, and thick underwood, he becomes very jealous of 

 his possessions, and seems offended at the least intrusion ; scolding every passenger as soon as 

 they come within view in a great variety of odd and uncouth monosyllables, which it is diffi- 

 cult to describe, but which may be readily imitated so as to deceive the bird himself, and 

 draw him after you for half a quarter of a mile at a time, as I have sometimes amused myself 

 in doing, and frequently without once seeing him. On these occasions his responses are 

 constant and rapid, strongly expressive of anger and anxiety, and while the bird itself 

 remains unseen, the voice shifts from place to place among the bushes as if it proceeded from 

 a spirit. 



" First is heard a repetition of short notes resembling the whistling of the wings of a duck 

 or a teal, beginning loud and rapid, and falling lower and slower, till they end in detached 

 notes ; then a succession of others, something like the barking of young puppies, is followed 

 by a variety of hollow, guttural sounds, each eight or ten times repeated, more like those pro- 

 ceeding from the throat of a quadruped than that of a bird, which are succeeded by others not 

 unlike the mewing of a cat, but considerably hoarser. 



"All these are uttered with great vehemence, in such different keys and with such pecu- 

 liar modulations of voice as sometimes to seem at a considerable distance, and instantly as if 

 just beside you ; now on this hand, now on that ; so that from these manoeuvres of ventril- 

 oquism you are utterly at a loss to ascertain from what particular spot or quarter they proceed. 

 If the weather be mild and serene, with clear moonlight, he continues gabbling in the same 

 strange dialect, with very little intermission, during the whole night, as if disputing with his 

 own echoes, but probably with a desire of inviting the passing females to his retreat ; for 

 when the season is further advanced, they are seldom heard during the night." 



It is a very retiring bird, keeping itself completely out of view, but if once detected, 

 flinging itself into a state of ludicrous alarm at the sight of a human being. It generally 

 restricts itself to the brushwood, and flits quietly among the densest shade ; but if it should 

 be discovered, it immediately dashes upwards to a height of some forty or fifty feet, drops 

 as suddenly as it had mounted, then rises again, letting its legs dangle at full length, and 

 uttering a succession of terrified squeaks and yells. So quick are its movements, and so 

 wary are its habits, that a single gunner can seldom succeed in shooting one of these little 

 birds, and the aid of a second sportsman is required before the crafty and active little creature 

 falls to the shot. 



The food of the Yellow-breasted Chat consists principally of insects, and it has a special 

 predilection for the larger beetles, which it eats of such great dimensions, that the spectator 



