XLV 



.THE YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT 



IN the etory of the crow I told you about the clump of 

 blackberry bushes, giant ferns, etc., that grew hard by 

 the crabapple thicket and that tradition said was a snake's 

 den. No one tramped through this thicket and so it had 

 grown so thick with blackberry briers and gooseberry 

 bushes that it would have been difficult to crowd through 

 it. But in spite of supposed snakes and thick brush few 

 things went on in this thicket without our knowledge. As 

 you remember we children played on all sides of this 

 thicket, because it was only a few steps from our favorite 

 playhouse, the wild grape arbor. 



One day early in May sister and I were playing in the 

 grape arbor when we noticed a pair of birds that were 

 different from any with which we were familiar. They 

 were fair sized birds, about seven and a half inches long, 

 of uniform olive green color above while the breast and 

 under coverts of the wings were bright yellow, and the 

 belly white. 



These birds stayed pretty close in this thicket, tho they 

 did not hesitate to enter the crabapple thicket or the 

 gooseberry bushes near by. They did not go into the open 

 woods, however, seeming to feel safer in the thick brush. 

 The male evidently had not finished courting his wife, 



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