YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. 



ICTERIA VIRENS. 



Char. Above, olive; lores black; throat and breast rich yellow; 

 belly white. Length 7 to 8 inches. 



Nest. In a thicket 2 or 3 feet from the ground ; of dried leaves, strips 

 of bark, or grass lined with fine grass or fibres. 



Eggs. 3-4; white, with pink tint, spotted with brown and lilac ; 0.90 

 X 0.70. 



This remarkable bird is another summer resident of the 

 United States which passes the winter in tropical America, 

 being found in Guiana and Brazil, so that its migrations prob- 

 ably extend indifferently into the milder regions of both 

 hemispheres. Even the birds essentially tropical are still 

 known to migrate to different distances on either side the 

 equator, so essential and necessary is this wandering habit to 

 almost all the feathered race. 



The Icteria arrives in Pennsylvania about the first week in 

 May, and does not usually appear to proceed farther north and 

 east than the States of New York or Connecticut. To the 

 west it is found in Kentucky, and ascends the Ohio to the 

 borders of Lake Erie. In the distant interior, however, near 

 the Rocky Mountains, towards the sources of the Arkansas, 

 this bird was observed by Mr. Say, and Mr. Townsend saw it 



