yellow breasted chat

1. Bird Name: The bird under discussion is the Yellow Breasted Chat. Scientifically, it is known as Icteria virens.

2. Appearance: The Yellow Breasted Chat is an eye-catching songbird with its vibrant yellow breast and throat, along the lower front side, setting a stark contrast against its olive-green back, wings, and tail. The bird sports a conspicuous white ‘spectacles’ marking around its eyes, making it quite distinguishable. Both males and females bear identical appearances. Its beak is medium in length, straight with a pointed tip, and is pale blue-gray. The eye color ranges from deep brown to black, while the legs are grayish-pink.

3. Size: This bird measures about 17-20 cm (6.7-7.9 inches) in length, with a wingspan reaching up to 23-27 cm (9.1-10.6 inches). The bird’s weight typically ranges from 20-33 grams.

4. Habitat & Distribution: The Yellow Breasted Chat is found in thickets, shrubby woodland edges, and overgrown pastures across North America, particularly in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Its preferred habitats include dense growths around wetlands, scattered shrubs near forests, and disturbed areas.

5. Interesting Facts: This bird species is a long-distance nocturnal migrant and travels to Central America and the Caribbean for the winter. Contrasting its vibrant color, the Yellow Breasted Chat is elusive and often hard to spot. It is famous for its chatty and diverse vocalizations, which is a mixture of caws, clucks, whistles, and hoots.

6. Diet: The Yellow Breasted Chat primarily feeds on insects like beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, and spiders, as well as small fruits and berries. Occasionally, they would indulge in snails.

7. Behavior & Sounds: They are solitary outside the breeding season and usually skulk in thickets, making their presence known through sounds rather than sight. During the breeding season, males perform flight displays, rising high and then descending while singing. Their calls range from musical whistles to mimicry of other birds, and sometimes, even the sound of frogs.

8. Conservation Status: The Yellow Breasted Chat is listed as ‘Least Concern’ by the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently considered endangered or threatened.

9. Lifespan: The lifespan of the Yellow Breasted Chat on average ranges from 6 to 10 years in the wild. The longevity record for a banded Yellow-breasted Chat in the wild is 11 years, 11 months.

10. Additional Notes: This species is known as ‘Ruisenor Pechiamarillo’ in Spanish and ‘Paruline polyglotte’ in French. They usually do not interact much with humans, being quite elusive. However, they do play a significant role in controlling insect populations in their habitats. Their nests have been known to be parasitized by cowbird species. Despite being within a habitat, they often remain high in the branches, making it difficult for even avid bird-watchers to get a good look at them.