Chester A. Reed

“ Eastern United States, breeding from the Gulf coast north to southern New England and Minnesota.
This strange but handsome species is very common in underbrush and thickets in the south; they are usually shy and endeavor, with success, to keep out of sight, but their strange song and calls, consisting of various whistles and squawks mingled together, are often heard. Their nests are built in bushes or briars at low elevations, being made of grass, strips of bark and leaves, lined with finer grass; their eggs are white, sharply speckled and spotted with various shades of brown and lavender ”

“ A species readily recognized by its bright yellow underparts and the black stripes on the face and sides; several bright chestnut spots are in the middle of the greenish back. These birds will be found on dry scrubby hillsides and valleys, where they nest in low bushes, and the male will be found in the tops of the tallest lookout trees delivering his quaint and very peculiar lisping song. Their nests are handsomely made of vegetable fibres and grasses, closely woven together and lined with hair ”

“ These active birds, which have all the habits and mannerisms of the common species, nest on the ground in thickets or shrubbery usually near water, and generally conceal their homes under overhanging stones or stumps; the nests are made of fine shreds of bark and grasses, lined with hair; the eggs are white, dotted with reddish brown ”