Yellow-breasted Chat
Icteria virens
The Yellow-breasted Chat is not only the largest, but the most unwarbler-like of this colorful family. If you live near thickets of dense shrubbery, where brier tangles and brushy, low bushes grow in profusion, there you will find this bird. He prefers low, damp ground but does not overlook similar habitat on dry hillsides. His loud and varied song will let you know when he arrives. Each series of notes is followed by a long pause, and then another series, but on an entirely different pitch; clear-whistled notes, low grating tones, caws or reed-like tones all find a place in this bird’s song.
When you invade his territory, you will find he is elusive, but a little patient waiting on your part will bring him out. Then you can check the olive-brown back and rich, lemon-yellow breast fading to white beneath the tail. The white line just above the eye combines with an eye ring, as if he were wearing spectacles. You might even see the short, stout bill or the rounded wings. Its long tail gives this bird a length of 7½ inches. He might entertain you with his clown-like antics by fluttering into the air with his head down and feet dangling, but accompanied by some of his sweetest music.
A clown at heart,
He lets you know
That he is pleased
To steal the show.
Wilson’s Warbler
Wilsonia pusilla
