Yellow-Breasted Chat
Icteria virens
About This Species
This large, skulking warbler favours dense thickets, brambles and overgrown scrub, often staying low and hidden even while singing. Listen for its odd mix of whistles, cackles, and mimicked calls, frequently delivered from cover or during a brief display flight rather than an open perch. Late spring through early summer, when males are most vocal on breeding territory, gives the best chance of a clear look.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Stay on trails and view from a distance with binoculars rather than pushing into dense brush to flush it, since it is easily disturbed and nests low in thick cover where eggs and chicks are vulnerable to trampling.
- In the United States it is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which makes it unlawful to disturb active nests; comparable protections may not apply outside its breeding range, so check local rules if encountering it elsewhere.
- Avoid playback of recordings during the breeding season, as repeated tape luring can pull birds off nests and waste energy they need for raising young.
LCAvesPasseriformesParulidae
Seasonal Activity
923,918 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Parulidae
Photo
(c) Todd Dixon, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Todd Dixon
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.