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Birds of Zihuatanejo

CLASS AVES

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Birds (Class Aves)

-Perching Birds (Order Passeriformes)

-Yellow-breasted Chats (Family Icteriidae)

-Yellow-breasted Chats (Genus Icteria)

-Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens)


The Icteria virens, commonly known as the Yellow-breasted Chat, is a species of songbird that can be found in North and Central America. Its range includes most of the United States, Mexico, and parts of Central America. It prefers open woodlands and can be spotted near grasslands, shrublands, and swamps. It feeds on both insects and berries, and is known to be quite active and vocal. It has a striking yellow breast, white belly, and dark wings.

Yellow-breasted Chat

Icteria virens

Diet

  • Primarily insects, including beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, crickets, flies, bees, wasps, ants, and spiders.

  • Also feeds on berries, grapes, elderberries, blackberries, and other small fruits, especially during migration and winter.

  • Forages in dense shrubs and low vegetation by gleaning prey from leaves, branches, and occasionally the ground.

Range

  • Breeds across much of the United States and into southern Canada, with smaller breeding populations in northern Mexico.

  • Winters from western and southern Mexico through Central America to Panama.

  • A regular winter visitor to the Zihuatanejo region, where it inhabits tropical dry forests, woodland edges, riparian thickets, second-growth forests, brushy fields, and dense scrub.

  • Prefers dense, shrubby vegetation with good cover.

Male / Female

  • Male: Olive-green upperparts, brilliant yellow throat and breast, white "spectacles" around the eyes, and white moustachial stripe. Slightly larger and more vocal than the female, especially during the breeding season.

  • Female: Very similar in plumage but generally slightly smaller and duller.

  • Sexes are difficult to distinguish in the field, with behaviour and vocalizations providing the best clues during breeding.

Size

  • Length: 18–19 cm (7.1–7.5 in)

  • Wingspan: 23–27 cm (9.1–10.6 in)

  • Weight: 23–35 g

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