Yellow-breasted Chat - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Vogelman
High Island, Texas, USA

Icteria virens

Identification

19cm
Olive upperparts, white belly, yellow throat and breast, long tail, thick heavy bill, large white eye-ring, and dark legs.

Distribution

Breeds in USA, western half of southern Canada and northern Mexico. Recent results suggest that at least part of the US population after having bred in early parts of summer migrates to north-western Mexico where a second round of breeding takes place before the birds go on the final migration to their winter home.

In winter found in Mexico (mostly southern half) though Central America to Panama.

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

Two subspecies are recognized:

• I. v. virens: Eastern

• North-central and eastern US to Florida; winters to Panama

• I. v. auricollis: Western

• Southern British Columbia to Baja and northern Mexico; winters to Guatemala

Habitat

Dense brush and hedgerows.

Behaviour

Breeding

The cup-shaped nest is hidden in thick shrubs.

Diet

The diet includes insects and berries.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Paper describing migration to second breeding area
3. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Yellow-breasted Chat. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Yellow-breasted_Chat

External Links

Search for photos of Yellow-breasted Chat in the gallery