Birds of Allegany Park 281 



This is a bird I was not well acquainted with before my experi- 

 ence in the Park, and I am not sure the description of the few 

 songs I heard will be typical for the species as a whole. The voice 

 is loud and clear, like that of the Yellow-throat, but the form of the 

 song is quite different. I wrote it " tolee tolee tolee tootletoo " the 

 first part of three or four pairs of notes, higher in pitch, and the 

 last a three-note phrase, and lower. One bird that I heard appended 

 a five-no;te phrase, " tootletooleeloo," to its song. 



The nest of this bird is placed on the ground. Young, out of 

 the nest, were found several times about Quaker Run in July. 



Yellow-breasted Chat. Icteria virens wrens (Linn.) 



The Chat, although classed as a warbler, unlike all the others of 

 that family, is larger than the English Sparrow. Its upper parts 

 are plain olive, the throat and breast rich yellow, sometimes almost 

 orange, and under parts white. A white line over the eye is the 

 only specially distinguishing mark. The bill is rather shorter and 

 heavier than those of other warblers. 



The Chat is a rare bird in this region and I have not actually 

 found it within the Park area. A single bird, in song, was observed 

 in a thicket along the road below Salamanca, not far from the 

 mouth of Red House Creek. An empty nest in a bush that looked 

 like that of a Chat was also found, but there was no way to prove 

 its ownership. 



To the field student there is nothing about the Chat, unless per- 

 haps its olive and yellow coloring, that suggests a warbler. Its 

 habits and song are totally different from those of the rest of the 

 family. It is a shy and secretive bird, keeping back in the dense 

 thickets, and making no outcry, even when nest and young are 

 threatened. 



Were it not for the song this bird would be very difficult to lo- 

 cate. It is a most peculiar one, made up of various odd phrases 

 sung at intervals, with long pauses between them. The phrases are 

 sometimes whistles, sometimes clucking noises, or again squeaky or 

 harsh and rasping. They may be single abrupt notes or a long 

 series of notes. One common phrase comprises a series of low 

 whistles, on the same pitch or running down toward the end, and 

 becoming slower and slower in a perfect ritardando. A representa- 

 tion of the song as commonly heard might be as follows: 



" Whew — kak-kak-kak — whee — kekekekekek hoo hoo 



hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo," etc. 



The nest is well hidden in a thick bush or tangle of vines, and 

 is seldom more than three feet above the ground. The sitting bird 

 slips quietly away when approached, and keeps adroitly out of sight 

 while the intruder is near. 



Cardinal. Cardinalis cardinalis cardinalis (Linn.) 



Nearly as long as the Robin, with longer tail, the brilliant red 

 body, wings and tail, crested head and black face of this bird make 

 it unmistakable. Yet many an amateur sees a Tana^er and calls 



