BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
299 
The eggs, mostly five, are white, finely speckled, usually about the 
larger end, with black and brown. They measure about .70 by .50 of an 
inch. The Maryland Yellow-throat feeds on numerous kinds of small 
insects and larvae. 
Genus ICTERIA Yieillot. 
Icteria virens (Linn.). 
Yellow-breasted Chat. 
Description (Plate 96). 
Length about7£ ; extent about 10 inches; wings rounded and shorter than tail, 
which measures about inches in length ; bill rather long (measuring along gape 
about three-quarters of an inch), stout, higher than broad at base ; ridge of upper 
mandible and commissure much curved. Birds of this genus are the largest of the 
family. Upper parts olive-green ; chin, throat, chest, breast and inside of wings 
bright gamboge-yellow ; lower part of belly and under, tail-coverts white; eye-lids, 
line under lower jaw and a stripe above the black lores, white. Bill black ; feet lead 
color. 
Habitat .—Eastern United States to the plains, north to Ontario and southern New 
England, south, in winter, to eastern Mexico and Guatemala. 
The Yellow-breasted Chat arrives in Pennsylvania about the first week 
in May, and remains until about the 20th of September. Although this 
bird is an abundant summer resident in briery thickets and tangled un¬ 
dergrowth, in open woods or along the edges of woods, it is much 
oftener heard than seen. When migrating this bird skulks silently 
about bushes and thickets, but when he locates for the summer he be¬ 
comes one of the most noisy inhabitants of the place. Often when 
perched in a tree top near his favorite retreats his song is not unpleas¬ 
ant, but if his domain is invaded by a human being he flies into the 
bushes and greets the intruder with a most varied medley of whistling, 
cackling, whispering, uncouth guttural sounds, yet all the time remains 
hidden, and as he continually shifts his position it is often exceedingly 
difficult to detect him, even though he continues his varied sounds. 
By remaining perfectly quiet you generally can catch a glimpse of his 
bright eye and yellow breast, or see his white crissum as he turns in 
the tangled leafy shrubbery. The nest, composed of leaves, grapevine 
bark and grasses, is built usually in briery thickets. The eggs, four 
or five in number, are white, marked with reddish-brown. They meas¬ 
ure a little less than one inch in length and a trifle over three-quarters 
wide. The Chat feeds chiefly on different forms of insect life. He also 
subsists on wild strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, whortleberries 
and small wild grapes. 
