T.w'ERNER — On Yellow-Breasted Chat in Mich. 19 



these Mr. Trombley writes me: "These nests were all taken 

 bv me in the same locality, and were the only birds seen that 

 year, and were the first Chats I ever saw here. After 1877, 

 and until 18S1, a few individuals were occasionally seen every 

 vear. After 1881, for a few years, they seemed to have de- 

 creased, so much so that I failed to detect any in their old 

 haunts." In 1894 the same observer took two birds, May 3 

 and 17, as is recorded in Butler's Birds of Indiana, and the 

 following mjonth, in compan\' with Mr. A. B. Covert and Dr. 

 Robt. H. Wolcott, the writer found several pairs on the edge 

 of a black ash swamp about four miles south of Ann Arbor, 

 Washtenaw County. Three or four birds were taken in this 

 instance and the following year they were found breeding in 

 the same locality by Prof. D. C. Worcester and Mr. Covert, 

 and the nest, eggs and the parent birds were taken, collected 

 and deposited in the Museum of the University of Michigan. 

 Since then, they have not been seen in this locality. 



Mr. Swales, in his List of The Land-birds of South-eastern 

 Michigan Bull., Mich. Ornith. Club, V. p. 40, records two nests 

 of the bird in Wayne County, both at Grosse Pointe, dated May 

 29, 1898, and May 30, 1903, taken by W. A. Davidson and 

 Chas. E. Wisner respectively. Sept. 28, 1904, I heard a bird 

 whistling in some dense shrubbery to the north of the city of 

 Detroit. The most diligent work failed to discover sight of 

 the vocalist, but I had no difificulty in recognizing the voice 

 of the Chat. Had this been the only record of the bird's occur- 

 rence here I should hesitate to record it here as such. Subse- 

 quent developments, however, substantiated the identification 

 and renders the conclusion safe. INIay 20. 1905, I heard and 

 saw one bird near the same place, and again, on the 23d, when 

 I saw several, but failed to secure any specimens. Subsequent 

 efforts in the samie locality on June 4 and 24. and July 1 and 4, 

 proved equally futile and they baffled all the efforts of Mr. 

 Swales and myself, though we saw the birds often and posi- 

 tively identified them. There were at least three pairs in the 

 vicinity and probably more. At the time of the last date their 

 song season had passed and the birds were so quiet that it 

 was impossible to find them and we had to give up the at- 

 tempt for the season. 



