550 LAND BIRDS 



theless he has seen you. In an instant his manner 

 changes, and the happy-go-lucky clown, who a moment 

 before was turning aerial somersaults, has become a shy, 

 suspicious haunter of the depth of the thicket, whence 

 will come his querulous ' chut, chut ' as long as your 

 presence annoys him." ^ 



This perfect description of the tricks and manners of 

 the chat is the best means of identifying the species. 

 Birds with olive-green backs and yellow under parts are 

 common enough, but one that combines the qualities of 

 a Punchinello with the grace of a professional gymnast is 

 rare. To the chat, life is one long joke. 



" His coming in the spring is like the arrival of a brass 

 band. . . . When not whistling, or scolding like an 

 oriole, calling like a cuckoo, or piping like a shrill-voiced 

 rock squirrel, he will bark like a dog." ^ 



It is hard to believe this of a bird not much larger 

 than a sparrow and belonging to the family of warblers. 

 But no words can describe his antics, though nearly 

 every writer on birds has tried. Mr. Bradford Torrey 

 and Mrs. Bailey have succeeded better than any others 

 in interpreting this eccentric clown of the bird world. 



Most of his aerial gymnastics are for the benefit of his 

 demure sweetheart, who rarely indulges in such foolish- 

 ness herself. He is like the small boy who must turn 

 handsprings to show off. 



One of these birds that built his nest in a willow 

 thicket near Pasadena took his full share of nest-building, 

 and would bring the material soberly enough, give it to 



1 Chapman. '^ Bailey. 



