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.