Yellow-breasted Chat

Icteria virens auricollis

The yellow-breasted chat is a relatively large warbler with a longish tail. In Canada, the species is limited to the interior of British Columbia. The chat breeds in tangled, dense thickets of wild rose, hawthorn or snowberry, usually bordering deciduous forests. Availability of suitable habitat is the main limiting factor for the bird, although clear-cutting forest practices have ironically created some habitat. The yellow-breasted chat is protected by legislation and a recovery effort is in place.