Bird of the Week

This week’s Bird of the Week, compliments of the Weminuche Audubon Society and Audubon Rockies, is the yellow-breasted chat. In spring, this is a bird with a lot to say. If you are searching a dense thicket for the source of rather unbirdlike noises — including whistles, cackles, chuckles, hoots and gurgles — this may be your guy. The lemon-yellow breast and white spectacles are stand-out features on this olive-gray bird. For its size, it is big-headed and has a long tail. In summer the chat breeds across much of the United States. It is only reported in our area between May and August before departing to Central America for the winter. The yellow-breasted chat was formerly classified in the warbler family, but it didn’t quite fit in there. DNA studies suggest a relationship to members of the blackbird family, but enough differences in behavior and anatomy have earned this bird its own family, where it is the only member. These birds are seldom heard or seen during much of the year, but it can be a different story during breeding season, when males may be conspicuous, entertaining with their strange songs from an exposed perch. To attract a mate, the male may perform a musical display flight, singing while flapping his wings with legs dangling. He even frequently sings at night. The yellow-breasted chat is often associated with water, but also can be found in shrubby vegetation of forest edges, logged areas, fencerows and abandoned farmland. It feeds on a variety of insects and spiders gleaned from foliage. Half or more of its diet consists of wild fruits and berries. Although not normally a feeder bird, some that winter in the northeast will come to suet feeders. The chat breeds in habitats of impenetrable briary tangles that suit its secretive nature. Females especially spend much of their life close to the ground, where they nest in low, dense vegetation. Although pairs are mostly monogamous, nestlings of the same brood sometimes have different fathers, and males may also have more than one partner. The yellow-breasted chat is one of our fun summer birds to be on the lookout for now. For information on events, visit www.weminucheaudubon.org and www.facebook.com/weminucheaudubon/.