152 AMEMICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. 



A. O. V. jVo. 6 83. ilcteria x^irenj). 



RANGE. 



The United States, east of the plains, excepting northern New England, 

 South in winter, to eastern Mexico and Central America. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Length, 7.5 in.; extent, 10 in.; tail, 3.5 in. Eye, brown. Feet, brown- 

 ish. Bill, black. 



Adults and young alike. — Entire upper parts including wings and tail are 

 an olive green color. The throat is a rich golden yellow, changing 

 abruptly into white on the belly. A spot on the lower eye-lid is white, 

 and a white line extends from the bill over the eye, as does one from the 

 lower bill down the side of the neck. 



NEST AND EGGS. 



These birds nest in tangled briar thickets and in small scrubby growth. 

 A number of pairs of the birds frequently breed in the same locality. The 

 nest is made of strips of bark, dead leaves, and grasses. The eggs are 

 laid about the latter part of May. They are glossy white, specked and 

 dotted with reddish and chestnut. They are most heavily marked at the 

 larger end. They lay from three to four eggs. 



HABITS. 



If ever a bird was rightly named this one is. His breast is the brightest 

 of yellows, and if he does not chat with you, he surely has a sufficiently 

 large variety of notes to enable him to converse in almost any language. 

 He is remarkable not only for his variety of notes, but he has developed 

 into an accomplished ventriloquist, and this gay deceiver practices his art 

 upon all who have occasion to pass his abode. 



Chats are quite rare in Massachusetts and 1 only see a very few every 

 year. There is one side hill where for a number of years I have found 

 them. It is covered with a new growth of chestnut trees and briars. 



A few days ago I visited the place and found that they had returned 

 again this year. I had no sooner crossed the wall separating this growth 

 from a growth of larger trees adjoining, than I was greeted by a querulous 

 squawk. I parted the bushes in front of me to see if I could see him. I 

 could not. 1 think that he was waiting for some one to come along with 

 whom to amuse himself. 



The brush was very thick, and 1 made slow progress through the patch. 

 Now a tremulous whistle, a deep chirp, a whining cry, or sounds resem- 



