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Yellow Chat
(Epthianura crocea)
: "Yellow-breasted Chat";
race "macgregori":
"Capricorn Yellow Chat"
Size: 10-11.5 cm
Weight: 7 - 11 g
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Similar
species |
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Yellow Chats are very small insect-eating birds. Their
plumage is
dimorphic, i.e.
males and
females
are different.
Male
Yellow Chats in breeding
plumage
have a bright-yellow head, rump and front, with a
characteristic black crescent on the chest.
The nape of the neck and mantle are olive-grey, while the
wings are dark-grey with broad yellowish-white edge lining,
which gives the folded wings a double-bar pattern.
Males
in eclipse
are much duller, with a greyish-brown head and back, weak
dull-yellow supercilia and a greyish-yellow front with only
a remnant of a crescent. Only the vent remains bright-yellow.
Female
Yellow Chats are like males in eclipse, but without any sign
of a chest crescent.
The irises of both sexes are cream-coloured.
Males
have a black straight and thin bill, while the bill of
females
is dark-grey, with a horn-coloured base of the lower mandible.
The legs of
males
are black; those of
females
are dark-grey.
Juveniles
are duller yet than
females,
with a greyish front, with an off-white throat and not even a
faint eyebrow. The irises are grey.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Yellow
Chat at Wikipedia  .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
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The global distribution of the Yellow Chat is available
HERE
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NB:
Reports on ebird of birds submitted by birdwatchers from
the Australian Outback tend to be clustered along roads
and public areas such as camp grounds; in such cases their
distribution is not a good representation of the overall
distribution of the species.
Yellow Chats are endemic to Australia. There are three extant
races, with a patchy overall distribution across the
northern parts of the continent.
Nominate race "crocea" is the most farspread by far, with a
range extending from near Broome, WA, via the Kimberley and
most of the southern half of the NT into the far north-eastern
corner of SA and the far-west of QLD. In QLD their distribution
extends from the southern coastline of the Gulf of Carpentaria,
with occasional reports from the base of Cape York peninsula
towards Hinchinbrook, QLD, to near Birdsville, QLD in the
far South-west.
Race "tunneyi" is found only in a small area in the floodplains
of the Top End of the NT, from the Adelaide River to the East
Alligator River.
The distribution of race
"macgregori",
is restricted to three small areas in Capricornia, a region in central
eastern QLD near Rockhampton: Curtis Island, Torilla Plain and the
Fitzroy Delta.
Yellow Chats are highly specialised in their habitat requirements,
with a strong preference for
low shrubs,
cumbungi or rank tall
grass
in the interface with salty
marshes.
These marshes
can be coastal lagoons
or inland salty water around bores or salty inland
lakes.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
Race "macgregori"
M. Eaton reports finding a Yellow chat, race
"macgregori",
at the Cheetham Salt Works, Port Alma Road, near Rockhampton, QLD, in
April 2021.
All sighting and photographic information presented on this page
has been kindly contributed by M. Eaton.
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Photos |
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Race "macgregori"
This race is also called the "Capricorn Yellow Chat".
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ADULT |
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MALE |
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BREEDING |
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Near-frontal view of a male Yellow Chat
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cheetham Salt Works, Port Alma Road, near Rockhampton, QLD, April 2021]
Near-frontal view of a male Yellow Chat
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cheetham Salt Works, Port Alma Road, near Rockhampton, QLD, April 2021]
Near-lateral view of a male Yellow Chat
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cheetham Salt Works, Port Alma Road, near Rockhampton, QLD, April 2021]
Near-lateral view of a male Yellow Chat
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cheetham Salt Works, Port Alma Road, near Rockhampton, QLD, April 2021]
Dorsal view of a male Yellow Chat
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cheetham Salt Works, Port Alma Road, near Rockhampton, QLD, April 2021]
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Food, Diet |
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Male Yellow Chat taking a spider
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cheetham Salt Works, Port Alma Road, near Rockhampton, QLD, April 2021]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors.
The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Call/s
