The Warblers of Central New York 



83 



a few hours before they become accustomed to one's presence and may even 

 be coaxed to feed their young on one's hand. 



There are some exceptions to this, however, chief among which is the 

 Yellow-breasted Chat. Unlike the rest of its family in many ways, it carries its 

 peculiarity in this respect to the extreme, so that it becomes practically an 

 impossible subject for the photographer or the student of bird home-life. 

 The slightest disturbance of the nest, or the leaves about it in discovering it, 

 is apt to cause the birds to desert. Even with the maternal instinct at its 

 height, when the young are fully fledged, they will leave them upon the slight- 

 est provocation. 



In Central New York the Chats' nests are the most easily discovered of 

 any of the Warblers, though, of course, they are far less common than many. 

 They ordinarily nest about four feet from the ground in clumps of cornus, 

 spirea, or viburnum, or other shrubs which grow in patches and which present 

 a dense exterior but are sparsely branched and free from leaves on the inside. 



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It is necessary merely (o insert one's head beneath the crown of the i)ushes and 

 a glance tells whether or not the hulk\- nest is present. Since l)oth birds are 

 rather noisy al)out the nesting grounds, the nesting area is easily located and 

 there are usually not a great many possible nesting sites. 



One spring we discovered twenty difTcrenl nests of the Chat. They were 

 Iniilt, how('\-er, \)y l)ut seven pairs of birds, an average of nearly three nests per 

 pair. .VjJiJarentl}' .something had haj^pened time and again to disturb tiie birds 



