A YEAR WITH THE BIRDS 
601 
An incantation so serene, 
So innocent, befits the scene; 
There’s magic in that small bird’s note. 
See! there he flits — the Yellow-throat; 
A living sunbeam, tipped with wings, 
A spark of light that shines and sings, 
“ Witchery- witchery- witchery ! ” 
— Henry Van Dyke 
Yellow-breasted Chat: Icteria virens. S. R. 
Length: 7.50 inches. 
Male and Female: Olive-green above; brilliant yellow throat, breast, 
and wing linings. Whitish belly, white line over eye, and white 
spot beneath. Brownish glaze on wings and tail. Strong, curv- 
ing, blue-black beak. Feet lead-colored. 
Song: A varied whistle, with a decided ventriloquistic quality, inter- 
spersed with mocking syllables. 
Season: Common summer resident. May to September. 
Nest. Bulky, made of leaves, bark, and dead twigs, lined with grasses; 
placed in briary and inaccessible bushes. 
Eggs: 3 ~ 4 , often of unequal size, white, mottled with buff and spotted 
with red and lilac. 
A bird easily recognized by its large size and brilliant 
color. The Chat has reversed the motto so often preached 
at children, and is heard more than seen. When seen, how- 
ever, it is the picture of healthy, well-groomed beauty, with 
a voice at once powerful and melodious, and a reputation 
for shyness of disposition, which' trait takes the form of a 
bewitching elusiveness that it seems to know is very attractive. 
Its call notes, and the mocking gibes which it utters from 
the bushes to the distraction of the bewildered passer-by, are 
wholly different from the fervent spring song. Then it yields 
to an ecstasy of feeling, and soars singing into the air, trailing 
its long legs behind like a Heron, and looking, it must be con- 
fessed, very foolish; but after a few weeks it abandons its 
aerial gymnastics and contents itself with taunting, teasing, 
and misleading both man, beast, and bird. 
If you chance to find yourself in a lonely brush-grown 
lane and a clear, ringing whistle makes you think that some 
one is calling you, think twice before you are led into the 
tangle, for most likely it is Sir Deceiver, the Chat, and if you 
follow his voice you may stumble into a leaf-covered spring 
hole. 
