FAMILY MniotiltidcB 



The nest is usually placed in small firs 

 about twenty-five feet from the ground. It 

 is rather a large nest for a warbler, loosely 

 built, and composed of fir twigs, weeds, root- 

 lets, moss and dry grass, lined with hair and 

 feathers. 



.^ Long- tailed chat, Icteria virens longi- 

 cauda. 6.75 



Distribution : Western United States from 

 the Great Plains to the Pacific Coast, and 

 from British Columbia to southern Mexico. 

 Wintering in Mexico and Central America. 



The long-tailed chat is the largest of the 

 warblers and very unlike any other member 

 of the family. It makes its home in dense 

 thickets and in the tangle of vines and brush 

 in swampy places . No other warbler, and few 

 birds of any kind, possess the individuality 

 of the chat. Its form, call notes and habits 

 are all pronounced and characteristic making 

 it one of the most interesting birds in the 

 world. No other small bird has such a vo- 

 cabulary of call notes, gurgles, chuckles or imi- 

 tations of other birds. It is chut, chut, chut, 

 or quoort, quoort, quoort, and again, whew, 

 whew, whew, and sometimes a kee-yuk; then a 

 series of hawk or jay notes startling in their 

 suddenness and close imitations. Its presence 

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