Yellow-breasted Chat

Icteria virensOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Wood Warblers (Parulidae)

Codes: Common Name: YBCH Scientific Name: ICTVIR ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178964

Breeding Location:

Bushes, shrubs, and thickets, Marshes, freshwater, Swamps, Scrub vegetation areas

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

White with rust or violet flecks at large end

Number of Eggs:

3 - 6

Incubation Days:

11 - 12

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Dried stems, leaves, grasses, and bark pieces, lined with soft grasses, stems, and leaves.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Yellow-breasted Chat: Very large warbler with olive-green upperparts, brilliant yellow throat and breast, and white belly and undertail. Eyes have thick, white spectacles and dark eye patches. Bill is heavy and dark. Wings and tail are olive-green. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Yellow-breasted Chat: Breeds from British Columbia, Ontario, and (rarely) Massachusetts south to California, the Gulf Coast, and Florida. Spends winters in the tropics. Preferred habitats include dense thickets and brush, often with thorns, streamside tangles, and dry brushy hillsides.

Breeding and Nesting

Yellow-breasted Chat: Three to six white eggs with rust or violet flecks at large end, are laid in a bulky nest made of bark, grass, and leaves, lined with finer grass, and concealed in a dense bush. Incubation ranges from 11 to 12 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Yellow-breasted Chat: Diet consists primarily of insects, including bees, wasps, ants, grasshoppers, and beetles; also eat berries and wild grapes; forages in trees and shrubs.

Readily Eats

Sugar Water, Fruit, Nut Pieces

Vocalization

Yellow-breasted Chat: Emits an unusual series of widely spaced croaks, whistles, and short repeated phrases, unlike the typical warbler's song. Often sings at night; may perform a musical display flight, flopping awkwardly up and down with legs dangling.

Similar Species

Yellow-breasted Chat: None in range.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Yellow-breasted Chat

Yellow-breasted Chat: The largest North American warbler. Has olive-green to olive-gray upperparts, brilliant yellow throat, breast. Belly and undertail are white. Eyes have white spectacles and dark eye patches. Bill is heavy and dark. Wings and tail are olive-green. Bill, legs, and feet are black.

● Song: "caw", "cheow", "hair"

● Foraging & Feeding: Yellow-breasted Chat: Diet consists primarily of insects, including bees, wasps, ants, grasshoppers, and beetles; also eat berries and wild grapes; forages in trees and shrubs.

● Breeding & nesting: Yellow-breasted Chat: Three to six white eggs with rust or violet flecks at large end, are laid in a bulky nest made of bark, grass, and leaves, lined with finer grass, and concealed in a dense bush. Incubation ranges from 11 to 12 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Yellow-breasted Chat: None in range.

Flight Pattern

Weak fluttering flights of short duration.

● Range & Habitat: Yellow-breasted Chat: Breeds from British Columbia, Ontario, and (rarely) Massachusetts south to California, the Gulf Coast, and Florida. Spends winters in the tropics. Preferred habitats include dense thickets and brush, often with thorns, streamside tangles, and dry brushy hillsides.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^Population

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.9 Ounces

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America