e birds too, and sing all through
the summer when many of the better singers have grown silent."

"The Yellow-throat must be what I've called the Black-faced Yellowbird,"
said Rap. "Please, Doctor, does he sometimes fly right up in the air to
sing a little bit and then go back into the bushes as if he had changed
his mind?"

"Yes, Rap, that is one of the Yellow-throat's habits in late summer, but
one that very few people notice."

The Maryland Yellow-throat

Length about five and a half inches.

Upper parts olive-green, in the male with a black mask reaching along
each side of the head, and behind this an ashy-white border; but the
female wears no mask.

Under parts bright yellow, growing white on belly.

A Summer Citizen of the United States from Georgia to Canada.

When he lives west of the Mississippi River he is called the Western
Yellow-throat.

A Tree Trapper and occasionally a Sky Sweeper; a beautiful and familiar
bird of the brush and tangles.

THE YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT

"The Chat, besides being a very handsome bird, is a ventriloquist and a
great joker."

"Please, Uncle Roy, what is a ventroquist?" asked Dodo.

"I should have remembered not to use such a long word," laughed the
Doctor. "A ven-tril-o-quist is a person who can not only imitate sounds,
but makes it seem as if they came from his stomach, or even in a
different direction from where he is himself. The Mockingbird can
imitate many sounds, but all these come directly from the bird; while
the Chat can perch on a twig above your head and give a whistle that
seems to come from a bush across the road.

"This is what enables him to play tricks on birds, House People, and
various other animals. He will whistle until he has set a dog tearing
through the bushes to find his supposed master. Another time he will
give such a soft strange series of notes that a bird-lover will
immediately begin to search through a tangle of briers, after what he
imagines to be a strange bird. Then he indulges in a fit of merriment at
his own jokes--'chatter-chatter-chat-chat-chat-chat-chat' he says,
calling his own name as he slips away to the security of a catbrier or
barberry bush. Large and vigorous and strong of beak as he is, this
practical joker is wise, and does not often show his conspicuous yellow
breast in open places.

[Illustration: Yellow-Breasted Chat.]

"Some day in the nesting season you may see the Chat fly up in the air
and hear him sing