Yellow-breasted Chat - A Rare Visitor

                                        Yellow-breasted Chat   [Jennifer Pierce Photo]

The Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens) is a rare visitor from Mexico and Panama. It is a bit similar to a warbler but it is larger, has a stouter bill and a very different voice.  It is not difficult to identify.  Its bright yellow breast and throat are startling. Also note the long tail which is often held high, the dark olive green upper parts and the white spectacles.  To read about the life history of this species, search this blog for 'Yellow-breasted Chat'.

The Yellow-breasted Chats I have seen have always been secretive, hiding in tree foliage.  They are often still visible, though, with that blazing yellow breast.  This year there have been a handful of chat sightings.  One was seen by several people in Saint John starting November 6, 2021.  The photos shown in this post were taken from Grand Manan on 9 November, 2016.  

The Yellow-breasted Chat is a mimic.  It will mock other bird calls.  It was formerly grouped with the mimics (mockingbird, thrasher).  It was once grouped with the tanagers because of its large bill.  Fortunately, in 2017, with DNA testing the mystery was thought to be solved and it was placed in its own family, the only member of the family, Icteriidae.  Icteriidae is a distinct group from the blackbirds (Icteridae).  The warbler family (Parulidae) is now considered a sister group to the 'clade' containing Icteridae and Icteriidae.  However, in 2019 a study by Carl Oliveros and colleagues actually classified the Yellow-breasted Chat as a member of Icteridae (blackbirds).  As you can see, the classification of this species is till in doubt!

                                            Yellow-breasted Chat  [Jennifer Pierce Photo]

I will finish this post with a mention of the unique voice of this species.  Their song is a strange conglomeration of weird noises:  cackles, clucks, whistles and hoots.  Their call note is a harsh 'chak'.  Add that to the mimicry this bird will do and you have difficulty identifying this skulking species even when it is near you.  What often happens is you will mistake it for a catbird or a mockingbird and will walk on, missing this rarity.  The only time they are likely to be easily seen is in breeding season when the male is singing from an exposed perch or flying out making a gurgling sound.  Since they don't breed here, we don't see this.  So, as this has shown, it is a rare event to find a Yellow-breasted Chat here in New Brunswick, one to be enjoyed.