160 LIFE-HISTORIES OF BIRDS 



served a pair with their young at Randolph; and 

 also in the Adirondack regions, N. Y., according 

 to the authority of Mr. George Welch. 



The eggs are oblong-oval in shape, acuminate 

 at one extremity, and marked with dark purplish- 

 brown dots and blotches of varying proportions. 

 They measure .74 of an inch in length, and .54 in 

 breadth. The probable number is three. 



Subfamily Icteriinae: Chats. 



This group is of recent establishment/ It was 

 formed to accommodate the North America genus 

 Icteria and its two tropical allies. The pro- 

 priety of considering them as Warblers, has' been 

 much questioned. The genus Icteria is larger 

 than any other Sylvicolidcs, and has the bill short, 

 stout and'compressecl; the culmen a,nd commissure 

 curved ; rictus devoid of bristles, and tip unnotched ; 

 the wings are rounded and usually shorter than 

 the tail. The sexes have little color-variation. It 

 is probable that the genus is restricted to a single 

 species. 



Icteria virens, Baird. 



The Yellow-breasted Chat arrives in Philadelphia 

 not earlier than the first week of May. The males 

 apparently precede the females by at least three 

 days. In disposition this species is remarkably 

 shy, and affects a partiality for retired localities, 

 which high woods with dense underbrush, and 

 uncultivated fields with patches of brambles, afford. 

 It shuns rather than courts man's society. 



