Quick Answer
Yellow-breasted Chats are insectivorous birds that feed primarily on insects and other arthropods. Their diet consists mainly of beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, bees, wasps, and spiders. They also occasionally eat seeds and berries.
Diet
The Yellow-breasted Chat is an opportunistic forager that feeds on a wide variety of insects and other arthropods. Here is an overview of their main food sources:
Insects
- Beetles
- Grasshoppers
- Caterpillars
- Ants
- Bees
- Wasps
- Flies
- Dragonflies
- Moths
- Crickets
Beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, bees, and wasps make up the bulk of the Yellow-breasted Chat’s insect diet. They use their stout bill to crush hard-bodied insects like beetles. For softer bodied insects like caterpillars, they may shake or bang the prey against a branch to subdue it before swallowing.
Spiders
Spiders are another major prey item for Yellow-breasted Chats. They glean spiders from shrubs and low vegetation. Orb-weaver spiders and their webs are especially targeted.
Other Arthropods
In addition to insects and spiders, Yellow-breasted Chats will eat other arthropods when the opportunity arises. This includes:
- Centipedes
- Millipedes
- Sowbugs
- Snails
These prey provide a source of protein and calcium. Snails are often eaten by crushing the shell and extracting the snail body.
Seeds and Berries
While arthropods make up the majority of their diet, Yellow-breasted Chats also occasionally eat:
- Seeds
- Berries
- Fruits
They have been observed feeding on seeds and fruits of plants such as sunflower, amaranth, dogwood, elderberry, blackberry, and wild grape. However, these only represent a minor part of their overall food intake.
Foraging Behavior
Yellow-breasted Chats have a very active and acrobatic foraging style as they search for insect prey. Their foraging behaviors include:
- Gleaning – picking stationary or slow-moving insects off of leaves, branches, and trunks.
- Hawking – catching insects such as dragonflies, bees, and moths in mid-air.
- Hover-gleaning – hovering briefly to grab an insect from a leaf or branch.
- Hang-gleaning – hanging upside-down to pick insects off of the undersides of foliage.
- Lunging – making short lunges or sallies to catch prey on the ground or low vegetation.
- Berry plucking – plucking berries quickly from bushes by reaching out from a perch.
In addition to moving actively through vegetation, Yellow-breasted Chats will sometimes use a “sit-and-wait” strategy, perching on an exposed branch until prey items come near.
Chats often return to favorite perches where they have found prey previously. They will also investigate areas where other birds are feeding. Their flexible foraging strategies allow them to take advantage of any locally abundant food sources.
Habitat
Yellow-breasted Chats forage in dense, thorny shrublands and thickets, especially along waterways. Good habitat provides plenty of cover as well as perches for scanning for prey. Some of their preferred foraging habitats include:
- Riparian woodlands
- Marsh edges
- Second-growth clearings
- Old overgrown fencerows
- Abandoned farmland
Areas with blackberry, raspberry, hawthorn, willow, dogwood and wild grape are especially attractive, as they harbor high insect populations.
Adaptations for Feeding
Yellow-breasted Chats have several physical and behavioral adaptations that aid their insectivorous lifestyle:
- Gaping mouth – can open their mouth very wide to swallow large prey items.
- Stout conical bill – useful for crushing hard-bodied insects.
- Brush-tipped tongue – helps manipulate and swallow insect prey.
- Color vision – see ultraviolet light, helping spot flowers with lots of nectar-feeding insects.
- Dense feathers – protect skin against stings or bites when grabbing insects.
- Sit-and-wait hunting – saves energy between active foraging bouts.
- Caching behavior – stores extra captured insects in hiding spots for later.
Their flexible feeding behaviors, opportunistic diet, and adaptations for catching insect prey all help Yellow-breasted Chats meet their high energy needs during the breeding season.
Conclusion
In summary, Yellow-breasted Chats are insect-eating birds that feed opportunistically on a wide variety of arthropods. Beetles, grasshoppers, spiders, and other insects make up the bulk of their diet. They forage actively using a variety of hunting techniques to flush out prey from dense shrubby vegetation. While insects are their primary food, they also occasionally eat seeds, berries, and other plant material. Their adaptations like a strong bill and brushy tongue allow them to effectively capture and handle insect prey.