The Loquacious Chat

BirdNote^® 
The Loquacious Chat 
Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote!

[Stream sounds]

In summer, the thick tangles of streamside vegetation in many canyons echo with an uncanny sound.

          [Song of the Yellow-breasted Chat]

After a long and careful scan of the willow tree tops, your eyes come to rest on the mystery singer: a bird with a bright yellow chest and a green face marked with what look like bold white spectacles. You’ve just spotted a Yellow-breasted Chat.

         [Song of the Yellow-breasted Chat]

Keep a sharp eye on it though, because when the chat turns its grayish-green back to you, its image will blend so thoroughly with the leaves you may think you imagined the whole thing. Except that the song keeps coming!

          [Reprise, song of the Yellow-breasted Chat]

When the northern summer declines, the Yellow-breasted Chat will make its way south to winter in Central America until the springtime draws it north again.

For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.

Support for this episode is provided by Sarah Merner and Craig McKibben from Seattle, Washington, and generous listeners around the world. 

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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Ariana Remmel
Content Director: Jonese Franklin

Song of the Yellow-breasted Chat provided by www.Naturesound.org recorded by Martyn Stewart. Sounds of the stream recorded by C. Peterson in Robinson Canyon. BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler. 
© 2015 Tune In to Nature.org   July 2017  
Narrator: Michael Stein

ID# YBCH-01d-2017-7-1   YBCH-01d