Wayne: Birds of South Carolina. 175 



dance, as well as in low pasture lands and on the sides of rice-field 

 reservoirs . 



The song period begins as early as March 7 in some forward 

 seasons and continues until the middle of July. During the breed- 

 ing season the males frequently fiy high in the air and sing. 

 This performance is often repeated at intervals of from ten to 

 twenty minutes each morning and afternoon. 



The nest is generally built in a cluster of canes growing in water, 

 but it is sometimes completely hidden among the leaves of the 

 swamp palmetto. A nest with four fresh eggs was found on 

 April 25, 1906. It was placed between two leaves of the swamp 

 palmetto and was entirely concealed. Some nests are built en- 

 tirely of cane leaves and hned with fine grass, while others are 

 constructed of fine grass. They are placed from seven inches 

 to three feet over water, or the ground. Two broods are raised 

 each season. I found a set of four eggs on June 11, 1885, and a 

 set of four, heavily incubated, on April 24, 1907, thus proving 

 that two broods are raised. The eggs are four or five in number, 

 and are white, spotted and sometimes scrawled with reddish 

 brown and blackish. They measure .70X.50. 



A specimen was taken near Camden on January 8, 1906, by 

 Mr. Nathan Clifford Brown, and recorded by him in the Auk.^ 

 This record is not surprising, for the winter of 1906 was the mildest 

 since 1889-90, and this species unquestionably breeds in the 

 Wateree River swamp. 



276. Icteria virens (Linn.). Yellow-breasted Chat. 



The Chat is a summer resident, arriving with great regularity 

 in the spring, and it may be confidently expected between April 

 11 and 18. The birds are always abundant by April 22 and re- 

 main through August; but since they are always silent when the 

 breeding season is over, I am unable to state exactly how long 

 they remain with us. 



This peculiar as well as interesting species inhabits only dense 

 thickets of briars, and its breeding ground is of such a character 

 that it absolutely precludes exploration. On this account I 

 have found but two nests. The first was found in May, 1879, 

 within two miles of Charleston, and was built in a Cherokee rose 

 bush; while the second nest was not obtained until May 12, 1906. 



« XXIII, 1906, 227-228. 



