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Yellow-breasted Chat

(Ictera virens) 
Banded at Newport, Indiana

General Information

The Yellow-breasted Chat, a denizen of dense thickets, scrubby habitats and woodland edges, is the largest species in the Paruline Warblers. Its unmistakable song is described as "an astonishingly loud jumble of harsh cackles, rattles, whistles and squeals." Its call is likewise a harsh, grating "chack." Perhaps because of its larger size, its voice is the lowest pitched of the warblers.

The Chat, a short distance migrant, is resident in Central America and parts of the Southeastern US. Its breeding range extends across the US except the northern Great Lakes region and the Florida peninsula.
 

The chat is dark olive green above and bright yellow below. The jet black lores are highlighted by the white “spectacles” and the heavy black bill. The colors of the male are usually brighter, and the facial pattern bolder than that of the female (see following photos).

Figure 1 - Yellow-breasted Chat - Male

Figure 2 - Yellow-breasted Chat - Female
 

The female is similar to the male, but her colors are usually not as bright or as bold. The chats do not have any white color in the wings or in their long tail.

The jet black lores on the face of the female are also highlighted by the dark eye, the white "spectacles," the yellow throat and the heavy black bill.

Figure 3 - Yellow-breasted Chat - Female

Figure 4 - Brood Patch
  

In the breeding season, the female develops a brood patch on her stomach to incubate the eggs.

The upper wing is dark olive green. Wingspan is 9 to 10 inches. Weights range from 3/4 to 1 ounce.

Figure 5 –Upper wing - Yellow-breasted Chat

Figure 6 – Under wing -Yellow-breasted Chat

The under wing coverts are yellow, but the flight feathers are dark olive green. The breast and flank are also bright yellow, and the abdomen is white.

Chats, along with some 50 other passerine species, have an eccentric flight feather replacement pattern. In this individual, the difference in length between the 5th and 6th primary flight feathers (see pointer in photo) can be used to determine the age of the Chat. A difference less than 3 mm indicates either an after hatch year (AHY) or after second year (ASY) bird. A difference greater than 3 mm indicates either a hatch year (HY) or second year (SY) individual.
 

Figure 7 - Aging a Yellow-breasted Chat

Figure 8 - Tail - Yellow-breasted Chat

The long tail feathers are also dark olive green. In this photo, alternating dark and light bands can be easily seen. These are growth bars. As the bird feeds during the day, the feathers grow faster than they do at night when the bird is sleeping. The slower night growth develops darker bands, and faster daytime growth produces lighter bands.

If the bands match up across the tail feathers, this is an indication that all of the feathers grew in at the same time. This occurs when the bird grows up in the nest, but this may also occur if for some reason an adult birds loses all of its tail feathers and grows in a new set of tail feathers all at the same time.

Nesting Behavior

The female Chat builds a cup shaped nest in a dense tangle from ground level up to 8 feet above the ground. Nest materials include coarse grasses, weed stems and dead leaves. From 3 to 5 creamy white eggs with reddish brown blotches or speckles, incubated by the female, hatch in 11 to 12 days. Both parents tend the young, who leave the nest in 8 to 11 days. Chats apparently guard their nests well, as parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds is not as frequent as with other cup nest builders.

Banding Recoveries

 Banding studies show that Chats can live more than 8 years in the wild. If you should recover a banded bird, please report the band number to the Bird Banding Lab by calling 1-800-327-BAND.

Conservation Status

The Chat diet consists primarily of insects, including grasshoppers, bugs, beetles, weevils, bees, wasps, tent caterpillars, ants, moths and mayflies. Blackberries, wild grapes, and other berry fruits are also important food items. Chats perform an important service to man by consuming many pest insects.

References

Baicich, P. J., and C. J. O. Harrison. 1997. Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds, 2nd ed., Academic Press, NY.

Curson, J., D. Quinn and D. Beadle. 1994. Warblers of the Americas. Houghton Mifflin Co., NY.

Harrison, H. H., 1975. A Field Guide to Birds’ Nests of the United States East of the Mississippi River. Peterson Field Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston.

Pyle, P. 1997. Identification Guide to North American Birds. Part 1. Slate Creek Press, Bolinas, CA. 732 Pp.

Terres, J. K., 1995, The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds. Wings Books, NY.

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