28 
BIRD LIFE IN WASHINGTON 
derful songs and actions of tlie birds so 
that you may see them as I have. You'll 
have to go to the woods and marshes and 
enjoy the birds for yourselves. There’s a 
whole world of knowledge and fun in it. 
My first and best visits with the Chat 
were on the banks of the Columbia River 
where the river cuts its way through the 
mountains. Here on a ledge of rock 400 
feet above the river valley, I used to sit 
for hours and listen to this unwarbler like 
warbler. He took possession of a dead 
shrub 300 feet below me. He was more 
interesting to me than a whole brass 
band. Shall you wonder when I tell vou 
that he can sing like a thrush, pipe like 
a squirrel, bark like a puppy, and scold 
like a jay? 
He is much larger than most other 
warblers. He is about the size of the Ore¬ 
gon Towliee. He is unlike most warblers 
in the variety of his songs. Warblers us- 
uallv have but one song or at most two. 
They may have an every day song and a 
love song. 
Morning and evening, my chat was sure 
to be upon his particular stub at the foot 
of the bluff. From there lie made occa¬ 
sional trips into the thicket, but he was 
always back in a moment at his music. 
All this was pretty certain evidence, 
that in the thicket was a tiny tired wife, 
busy at her home making, and that she 
