Yellow-breasted Chat

 

May 26th

          This morning Mike and I went out to Oak Openings Metropark.  We were searching for two species that usually nest here, the Yellow-breasted Chat and the Blue Grosbeak.  We were successful in finding a chat in two different locations but had no luck finding a Blue Grosbeak. 

          Chats are small songbirds but are large and bulky compared to other warblers.  They have a long tail, big head, bright yellow breast, and white spectacles.  Chats can be hard to find because they tend to skulk in dense thickets.  The best time of year to find a chat is during the breeding season when the male delivers a stream of whistles, cackles, chuckles, and gurgles often singing from an exposed perch.

(1 new species, total 272)

Yellow-breasted Chat (scarce)   

                                       Yellow-breasted Chat

                                       Lark Sparrow



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