266 YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT 



1895; Hillsboro, la., September 4, 1898; Onaga, Kan., September 21, 

 1897; New Orleans, La., September 12, 1899; Bonham, Texas., Sep- 

 tember 20, 1889. 



The Bird and its Haunts. — Assuredly no other Warbler, and in- 

 deed few of our passerine birds, are possessed of the Chat's individ- 

 uality. Its characteristics of form, habits, and notes are exceptionally 

 pronounced and, in consequence, we have here a bird of more than 

 usual interest. 



Although the Chat avoids rather than seeks observation, he by 

 no means shuns the haunts of man and when favorable cover was 

 available I have known these birds to nest in a village. Generally, 

 however, the tangled undergrowth which the Chat requires disappears 

 as the human population increases and, for the Chat, only the waste 

 places are left. Not only does the dense, often briery growth, which this 

 bird requires, develop more freely near water but here, because of the 

 often less habitable nature of the ground, it is left longest and for 

 these reasons one generally finds the Chat in wet or swampy places, 

 though he evidently is quite as contented in upland thickets, when they 

 are available. 



No small part of the impression the Chat creates is due to the 

 nature of his haunts. In them he has the bird student at complete dis- 

 advantage. When seemingly almost within reach he is still invisible ; 

 and one might well imagine that he intentionally led us through the 

 most impenetrable part of his home merely to enjoy our futile efforts 

 to see him. To the Chat, therefore, more than to any other American 

 bird, might be applied Wordsworth's familiar lines : 



"O Cuckoo! Shall I call thee bird 

 Or but a wandering voice?" 



If, however, you would see the Chat satisfactorily, fight him 

 with his own fire. Seat yourself in the thicket where as pursuer you 

 are at the bird's mercy, and with pursed lips squeak gently but persist- 

 ently. Soon there will be an answering chut, and with due patience 

 and discretion you may induce this elusive creature to appear before 

 you. 



I do not recall a more suspicious bird than the Chat. Even the 

 Crow's innate caution is sometimes forgotten ; but a Chat is always on 

 guard. So far as I am aware, no one has as yet succeeded in photo- 

 graphing a Chat on its nest. F. L. Burns (MS.) writes that "the nest 

 is watched very closely although its owner is seldom flushed from it, 

 while a disturbed nest will almost invariably be deserted after the 

 bird has pierced or broken its eggs. While the Cowbird frequently 



