BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 299 



The eggs, mostly five, are white, finely speckled, usually about the 

 larger end, with black and brown. They measure about .70 by .50 of an 

 inch. The Maryland Yellow-throat feeds on numerous kinds of small 

 insects and larvae. 



GENUS ICTERIA VIEILLOT. 

 Icteria virens (LiNN.). 



Yellow-breasted Chat. 



DESCRIPTION (Plate 96). 



Length about 7| ; extent about 10 inches ; wings rounded and shorter than tail, 

 which measures about 3j inches in length ; bill rather long (measuring along gape 

 about three-quarters of an inch), stout, higher than broad at base ; ridge of upper 

 mandible and commissure much curved. Birds of this genus are the largest of the 

 family. Upper parts olive-green ; chin, throat, chest, breast and inside of wings 

 bright gamboge-yellow ; lower part of belly and under tail-coverts white; eye-lids, 

 line under lower jaw and a stripe above the black lores, white. Bill black ; feet lead 

 color. 



Habitat. Eastern United States to the plains, north to Ontario and southern New 

 England, south, in winter, to eastern Mexico and Guatemala. 



The Yellow-breasted Chat arrives in Pennsylvania about the first week 

 in May, and remains until about the 20th of September. Although this 

 bird is an abundant summer resident in briery thickets and tangled un- 

 dergrowth, in open woods or along the edges of woods, it is much 

 oftener heard than seen. When migrating this bird skulks silently 

 about bushes and thickets, but when he locates for the summer he be- 

 comes one of the most noisy inhabitants of the place. Often when 

 perched in a tree top near his favorite retreats his song is not unpleas- 

 ant, but if his domain is invaded by a human being he flies into the 

 bushes and greets the intruder with a most varied medley of whistling, 

 cackling, whispering, uncouth guttural sounds, yet all the time remains 

 hidden, and as he continually shifts his position it is often exceedingly 

 difficult to detect him, even though he continues his varied sounds. 

 By remaining perfectly quiet you generally can catch a glimpse of his 

 bright eye and yellow breast, or see his white crissum as he turns in 

 the tangled leafy shrubbery. The nest, composed of leaves, grapevine 

 bark and grasses, is built usually in briery thickets. The eggs, four 

 or five in number, are white, marked with reddish-brown. They meas- 

 ure a little less than one inch in length and a trifle over three-quarters 

 wide. The Chat feeds chiefly on different forms of insect life. He also 

 subsists on wild strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, whortleberries 

 and small wild grapes. 



