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Genus I.— ICTERIA Vieill. CHAT. 
Bill of moderate length, stout, slightly arched, broad at the base, com 
pressed toward the end ; upper mandible with the sides convex, the edges 
sharp, destitute of notch,. the tip acute and a little declinate ; lower mandi- 
ble with the dorsal line nearly straight, the edge-line slightly arched and 
inflected. Nostrils roundish, half covered by a vaulted membrane. General 
form rather robust ; head ovate, neck short, body moderate. Legs of 
moderate length, slender; tarsus compressed, anteriorly covered with eight 
scutella, of which the upper are blended ; two lateral toes nearly equal, the 
hind one not much stouter. Claws moderate, arch much compressed, late- 
rally grooved, very acute. Plumage soft and blended. Bristles very small. 
Wings of moderate length, rounded, third and fourth primaries longest, 
second little shorter, first longer than sixth. Tail rather long, rounded. 
THE YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. 
Icteria yiridis, Gmel. 
PLATE COXLIY. — Males, Female and Nest. 
This singular bird is extremely plentiful in Louisiana, Georgia, and tho 
Carolinas, during spring and summer. It arrives in the first of those States 
as soon as the blossoms of the dog-wood mark the return of the vernal 
season. Many continue their migrations eastward as far as Connecticut, 
but beyond this the species is seldom if ever seen. I have found it equally 
abundant in Kentucky, particularly in the barrens of that State ; and it 
ascends the Ohio, spreading over the country, and extending as far as the 
borders of Lake Erie in Pennsylvania. It never enters what is properly 
called the woods, preferring at all periods of its short stay with us, the large 
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