THE GENUS ICTEEIA 317 



partly booted, longer than middle toe; feet stout. Inner toe 

 cleft to the degree usually seen in this family. Of largest size 

 for this family. Form stout. Coloration simple, chiefly olive, 

 yellow and white. Nest in bushes. Eggs white, spotted. 



This is a genus which was usually assigned to the neighbor- 

 hood of the Vireos and Shrikes until Baird referred it to 

 8ylvicolidce, and some of the leading systematists retain it in 

 the former association. The structure of the wing and foot, 

 however, is rather Sylvicoline than Vireoniue, and may serve 

 to turn the balance in favor of the present assignment. There is 

 no very closely related North American genus; but Granatellus,* 

 from the warmer parts of America, and the Cuban Teretristis, 

 are near extralimital allies. 



Only one species of Icteria can be regarded as established 

 among the several indicated by authors; and as the habits of 

 the two recognized races are the same, a sketch of the genus 

 may include those notices that will enable me to confine the 

 account of the Western race to its specialties. 



Chats being abundant birds, conspicuous for their bright col- 

 oring and the singularity of their 

 habits, they early attracted atten- 

 tion. Catesby may have been 

 the first to give a detailed ac- 

 count, with a figure; though I do ^.^v"^"^^ 

 not suppose that earlier reference 

 to the Eastern species is not to 



be found. His notice is the basis, fig. 41.— Yellow-breasted Chat, natural 



wholly or in part, of many sub- ^*^''* 



sequent ones, and is especially noteworthy in the fact that 

 upon it is primarily grounded the original Linnsean name of 

 the bird, Turdus virens, the latter half of this term having 

 been lately and, I think, properly revived by Baird, though 

 the specific name viridis, from Gmelin's Muscicapa viridis, has 

 been oftener employed. Bartram and Wilson both bestowed 

 generic and specific names of their own ; and Vieillot renamed 

 the bird in 1807, inventing the two terms of his new designa- 

 tion. In later times, there have been other and less unques- 

 tionable names ; for the Mexican bird was renamed by both 

 Lichtenstein and Bonaparte. It is somewhat uncertain to 

 which race of the species these names apply; but it is most 

 probable that they indicate simply the resident Mexican indi- 



* For monographic sketch, cf. Bd. Rev. AB. 1865, 230 j Scl. PZS. 1864, 007. , 



