SYLVICOLID^ — THE WARBLERS. 311 



other times they are very shy. The notes and sounds uttered by the West- 

 ern bird Dr. Cooper states to be the same as those of the Eastern species, 

 and with tlie same grotesqueness. They leave the State of California on or 

 before the first of September. 



Dr. Gambel states that the Chat appears in California about the middle of 

 April, resorting to the hedges, vineyards, and bushy portions of gardens to 

 breed. 



Mr. Xantus found a nest of this bird (S. I., 89G) at Fort Tejon, California, 

 in May. It is a very symmetrical and exactly circular nest, six inches wide 

 and tliree in height. The cavity has a diameter of three inches at the brim, 

 and a depth of two. It is built of soft strips of bark, large stems, and 

 branches of dry plants, leaves, twigs, and other vegetable substances. These 

 are very neatly and compactly interwoven. The nest is elaborately lined with 

 finer stems and flexible grasses. Another nest (S. I., 1816), obtained at Neo- 

 sho Falls, Kansas, by Mr. B. F. Goss, is of irregular shape. Its height is four 

 inches, and its diameter varies from three and three quarters to five inches. 

 It was built in a depression in the ground, and its shaj)e adapted to its loca- 

 tion. The base is comjjosed entirely of leaves, impacted when in a moist and 

 decaying condition. Within these is interwoven a strong basket-like struc- 

 ture, made of long and slender stems, strips of bark, and fine rootlets, lined 

 with finer grasses and stems of plants. 



A nest of this species from Sacramento is composed, externally, of fine 

 strips of inner bark of the grape and of deciduous trees, coarse straws, stems 

 of plants, twigs, and dried remains of weeds, etc. It is lined with finer 

 stems and long wiry roots, resembling hair. This nest has a diameter of four 

 inches and a height of three. The cavity has a diameter of three inches at 

 the rim, and a depth of two. 



In regard to this variety Mr. Eidgway writes : " In no respect that I could 

 discover does this Western bird differ from the Eastern in habits, manners, 

 or notes. Tlie nesting-habits are exactly the same." 



The eggs of this species are, for the most part, larger than are those of the 

 virens. They vary in length from .9.5 to 1.00 of an inch, and have an aver- 

 age breadth of .70 of an inch. Their markings do not differ essentially in 

 shadings from those of the common species. 



Subfamily SET0PHAGINiE3. 



Ges. CnAR. Sj'lvicoline birds with the ph.iracters of Flycatchers ; the bill notched at 

 tip, depressed and broad at the base, though quite deep ; the rictus with well-developed 

 bri.stles reaching beyond the nostrils, sometimes to the end of the bill. First quill rather 

 less than the fourth, or still shorter. Size of the species rarely exceeding six inches. 

 Colors red, yellow, and olive. 



The species of this section resemble the small Flycatchers of the family 



