This bird was in the middle of a field on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge when its movement caught my eye. When it hopped to the top of the vegetation, its brilliant yellow chest made it really hard to miss, even though it was far away. I am pretty sure that it is a Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens), my first sighting ever of this cool bird species.
Many of the migrating warblers that are passing through my area have various yellow markings, so I assumed that this was simply another warbler that I had never seen before. The reality, however, is hardly simple. According to Wikipedia, “The Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens) is a large songbird found in North America, and is the only member of the family Icteriidae. It was once a member of the New World warbler family, but in 2017, the American Ornithological Society moved it to its own family. Its placement is not definitely resolved.”
Compared with most other warblers, the Yellow-breasted Chat seems much larger and bulkier and it has a relatively long tail and a rather robust beak. I love the bright yellow color on its breast and the distinctive eye-markings that make it look like the bird is wearing spectacles.
I think that we are nearing the end of the period of bird migration, but I will definitely keep my eyes open for possible new finds like this gorgeous Yellow-breasted Chat.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Thanks for the history lesson on this unique bird
Sent from my iPad Michael Garcia 571-999-3590
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I come across all kinds of weird stuff when trying to identify the subjects that I have photographed–it fun to share some of these unusual factoids. 🙂
That’s a new bird for me, Mike, what a beauty!
Guess I have to go try to find a recording of its voice to find out if that is why it is called a chat? Will et you know what I find!
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “Males have a large repertoire of songs made up of whistles, cackles, mews, catcalls, caw notes, chuckles, rattles, squawks, gurgles, and pops, which they repeat and string together with great variety.” Here is a link to some of the sounds the chat makes https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-breasted_Chat/sounds
Here is the chat recording https://youtu.be/orgLq1vrIoo
Thanks for sharing…the sounds are quite pleasant.
Very nice images of the Yellow-breasted Chat Mike!