Yellow-breasted Chat

The Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens) is a distinctive North American songbird with a bright-yellow throat and breast, olive upper parts, and a sizeable white eye ring. Formerly categorized as the largest of the New World warblers, it has since been reclassified to its unique family, Icteriidae, although some taxonomic studies suggest it's closer to blackbirds (Icteridae). These birds inhabit areas with dense shrubbery across North America, breeding from southern Canada to central Mexico, and wintering mostly in Mexico and Central America. The Yellow-breasted Chat is elusive, often heard more than seen, and builds bulky grassy nests in thick bushes where they lay 3-5 speckled eggs. They are omnivorous, feeding on insects and berries while occasionally using their feet to handle food—behavior that's unusual for passerines. The song of the Yellow-breasted Chat is an unusual blend of sounds that can mimic other bird species, which sometimes leads to confusion for birdwatchers. Despite facing challenges from habitat loss and brood parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds, the species is widespread and currently not considered globally threatened.