550 LAND BIRDS 
theless he has seen you. In an instant his manner 
changes, and the happy-go-lucky clown, who a moment 
before was turning aérial somersaults, has become a shy, 
suspicious haunter of the depth of the thicket, whence 
will come his querulous ‘chut, chut’ as long as your 
presence annoys him.” ' 
This perfect description of the tricks and manners of 
the chat is the best means of identifying the species. 
Birds with olive-green backs and yellow under parts are 
common enough, but one that combines the qualities of 
a Punchinello with the grace of a professional gymnast is 
rare. To the chat, life is one long joke. 
‘‘ His coming in the spring is like the arrival of a brass 
band. . . . When not whistling, or scolding like an 
oriole, calling like a cuckoo, or piping like a shrill-voiced 
rock squirrel, he will bark like a dog.” ? 
It is hard to believe this of a bird not much larger 
than a sparrow and belonging to the family of warblers. 
But no words can describe his antics, though nearly 
every writer on birds has tried. Mr. Bradford Torrey 
and Mrs. Bailey have succeeded better than any others 
in interpreting this eccentric clown of the bird world. 
Most of his aérial gymnastics are for the benefit of his 
demure sweetheart, who rarely indulges in such foolish- 
ness herself. He is like the small boy who must turn 
handsprings to show off. 
One of these birds that built his nest in a willow 
thicket near Pasadena took his full share of nest-building, 
and would bring the material soberly enough, give it to 
1 Chapman. 2 Bailey. 
—— rrr 
