A Day in Chatville. 
BY 1IAKBY G. PARKER, CHESTER, PA. 
The eggs of the Yellow-breasted Chat, ( Icteria 
vielnm), have always appeared to my eye to be 
among the most beautiful laid by any species 
breeding in our midst. Apart from the beauty of 
a normal specimen, they are possessed of differ- 
ence so varied, both in size and markings, that 
few oologists are aware of, unless they have had 
the privilege of examining a large number of sets 
at one time. Now as this species was only repre- 
sented in my cabinet by one set, and that col- 
lected by a friend, the idea of taking a number of 
sets came up before my mind on just such a 
stormy, wintry night, as the thoughts of the 
naturalist love to dwell on the memory ol green 
Holds and babbling brooks. Seated before a cosy 
grate fire in my study, in slippered feet, with ad- 
ditional comfort lent by the indulgence of a pipe, 
I bid defiance to the elements without, and pro- 
jected a trip for the coming season to a spot not 
more Ilian twenty miles from Philadelphia, which 
is admirably adapted by nature to the nidification 
of this bird. I sat long, and mused and wondered 
whether the place I had in view would prove as 
Feb. 1886.] 
AND OOLOGIST. 
23 
good a collecting ground as it did when I first 
took up my oblogieal studies as a boy. 
Spring came all too soon, and on the evening of 
May 39th, 1885, 1 left home, and after a ride across 
country of ten miles, put up for the night at a 
modest country Inn (a relic of Colonial times) to be 
near my ground by daylight next morning. Years 
had failed to make any changes in the place I 
sought. Picture to yourself an elevated plateau, 
miles in extent, and barren for the most part of 
trees, thickly covered as far as the eye could reach 
with viny and briery thickets, laurel, and a small 
species of evergreen. Here and there a mountain 
stream relieved the unbroken level as it went 
tumbling on its noisy way to meet the river Dela- 
ware some miles below. AH this bordered on the 
north by heavy forest, presenting an upland with 
southern exposure. The hundreds of ancient and 
mossclad stumps of trees alone bespoke civiliza- 
tion and the deadly work of the woodman’s axe of 
some former day. A veritable haven for Chats 
it proved, and between 5 a. m. and noon I had 
taken twenty-two sets, besides some other species 
not to be recorded here. By 4 p. m. I had com- 
pleted a day's collecting with an additional four- 
teen sets, making a total of thirty-six sets of 
Chats alone. 
Of the total number of sets collected on this 
day, I have selected eight from my cabinet which 
show nearly every phase of variation. I take up 
the sets for description as they now appear 
before me. 
Set No. 1, — Four eggs of crystalline whiteness 
covered uniformly all over with minute spot of 
reddish brown, no spot exceeding in size the point 
of a pin, no lilac shell markings. Measurements 
.88x.08, ,88.x. 66, .86.X.64 and .Box. 65. 
Set No. 2. — Consists of four eggs which measure 
respectively ,90x.68, 90x67, .88x.68 and ,87.x. 63N 
Underground white. The general appearance of 
this set is ringed, formed of large splashes or 
blotches of two shades of red, similar to the mark- 
ings on a heavily colored set of Meadow Lark’s. 
The entire end and top are covered witli these, 
which are confluent. The remainder of the egg 
is here and there sparingly spotted with minute 
spots of same color. 
Set No. 3. — Four eggs, having an underground 
of highly polished white, similar toY T ellow-shafted 
Flicker’s eggs, and the entire portion of three 
eggs is covered with a heavy marbled pattern in 
red, much like the mottling of Nighthawk’s eggs. 
The remaining egg is very peculiar, and looks out 
of place in this set, having a ring of reddish 
brown spots around I lie smalletl end, the remain- 
ing portion being the shining white. Measure- 
ments average ,93x.66. 
Set No. 4. — Four eggs shaped like peanuts, 
faintly marked all over with the usual colored 
spot. The lilac shell marks show plainly. This 
set contained one egg of Cowbird. They meas- 
ure 1.03X.58, l.Olx.56, l.Olx.55 and 1.00x.55. 
Set No. 5. — Contained four eggs, the most 
beautiful of my day’s work. Ground color a 
pure dead white and ringed around the larger end 
in innumerable spots of the brightest red. If an 
artist should take in hand a set of eggs of Purple 
Martin, and very delicately effect a wreath around 
the larger end, they would look as much like the 
set I am trying to describe as anything I can 
think of. Fully four-fifths of each egg is pure 
white, unspotted. These specimens measure 
,94x.6(l, .93x.G6, ,93x,65 and .92x.02. 
Set No. 0. — Four eggs and Cowbird’s egg. This 
set looks much like a set of Spurred Towhee, 
which were collected and presented to me by my 
friend W. Otto Emerson, of California. The en- 
tire egg is covered with dull markings. Sizes: 
.OGx.72, .92x.70, 94x.60 and .90.X.08. 
Set No. 7. — Four eggs pure while. The lilac 
and reddish markings are about equally numerous. 
They are dispersed over the entire surface. Very 
glistening and pretty. One egg of the Cowbird 
was found In this nest. Average measurement : 
,90x.68. The eggs look like some sets of Golden- 
crowned Thrush, ( Siurux auneapillwf). 
Set No, 8. — Four remarkably small, palely 
marked specimens, Nearly round, ,71x.68. These 
little eggs have the appearance of having been 
dipped in an acid which would remove the color of 
the marking. They might be termed albinos. 
1 am convinced that four eggs is the usual nest 
complement, as this is the most I found. The 
eggs at this date was mostly fresh, although I 
saw one nest with young birds, and several with 
one, two, or three eggs, which I did not disturb. 
No nest was more than five feet from the ground, 
and all were built in bramble or low thickets, ex- 
cept one which was on a small tree. Several were 
within one foot of the ground, and on an average 
every fourth nest contained the egg of the Cowbird. 
The normal nest is long and thick ; very com- 
pact, and I think it quite a pretty bird home. It 
is composed of leaves, strips of wild grape vine 
bark, and dead grass. One beautiful specimen I 
found was made entirely of dead beacli leaves, 
with a plentiful lining of straw. 
Probably few collectors in this locality have any 
idea of the excessive abundance of this bird in 
suitable places ; and the fact that I found such a 
large number of nests in one day, and all within a 
radius of a mile, proves that the Chat loves an up- 
land solitude, and that he finds much pleasure in 
the society of his relatives. 
0 .&O.XI.Feb.l8S6.p,£2-*3. 
