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Yellow-Breasted Chat

Status Uncommon vagrant, very rare in winter. Although this bird was not recorded until 20 December 1951, when a dead bird was found at Port Mouton, Queens County, by Herbert Leslie, it has become one of our most regular vagrants since then. There were a dozen more reports by 1960, 100 or more by 1970, and over 200 reports representing hundreds of individuals by the end of 1984. These occurrences have been rather evenly distributed by month from September through November, with about half as many in August and December. Six have stayed or survived into January, and single birds have survived until 1 February 1967 and 4 February 1976, both in Halifax. A bird at Ingomar, Shelburne County, on 22 April 1961 (Mrs. A.P. Hamilton) and another during early July 1965 at Lower Ohio, Shelburne County (H.F. Lewis), are the only exceptions to this autumn-winter pattern of occurrences. Almost all reports have come from the southwestern half of mainland Nova Scotia, though there are records from virtually all counties of the province.

Remarks The largest of our warblers, this bird has neither the appearance nor the behaviour of any other members of its family. Its greenish back, white eye ring and bright yellow throat, breast and upper belly are warbler-like. However, it is considerably larger than a Song Sparrow, has a large, heavy bill instead of the dainty bill characteristic of other warblers, and behaves somewhat like a Gray Catbird. Its normal range in summer is only slightly to the southwest of Nova Scotia, so it is not surprising that it has found its way here; but why so many have reached our shores recently is a question for which a satisfactory answer has not yet been found.