oi^i0) 



Vol. V. 



NOVEMBER, 1879. 



No. 5. 



The Yellow -breasted Chat, its 

 Nest and Eggs. 



fPHE nest oi Icteria virens is well known 

 to collectors, especially to those living 

 in the more southerly portions of the coun- 

 try. Like that of a Cat Bird, it is one of 

 the first to attract the the eager search of 

 tlie youth, who, fired with an ambition to 

 ])ossess a collection of hirds' eggs, scrutin- 

 izes each bush with an ever expectant eye, 

 to the keenness of which a day's ramble 

 rarely fails to secure an abundant reward. 



The Yellow-breasted Chat's nest is one of 

 those whicli somehow or other always pos- 

 sess a seemingly inordinate charm for the 

 very youthful specimen hunter. Not that 

 the nest is pretty nor the eggs rare, nor yet 

 even the possession of them, but the finding 

 of the grassy home with its complement of 

 shiny eggs is a triumph which no words 

 seem adequate to nescribe. The effect is 

 tlie same as that produced upon tlie natur- 

 alist, bv the unexpected discovery of the 

 rare and valuable nest of some little known 

 species. During the time when birds' eggs 



