Yellow-breasted Chat – Oregon Conservation Strategy

Overview

Species Common Name Yellow-breasted Chat
Species Scientific Name Icteria virens auricollis
Federal Listing Status Species of Concern
State Listing Status Sensitive

Ecoregions

Klamath Mountains

The Klamath Mountains ecoregion covers much of southwestern Oregon, including the Umpqua Mountains, Siskiyou Mountains, and interior valleys and foothills between these and the Cascade Range. The Rogue watershed has the largest population of any coastal watershed in Oregon (Jackson County, Josephine County, and a portion of Curry County). Several popular and scenic rivers run …

Willamette Valley

The Willamette Valley ecoregion is bounded on the west by the Coast Range and on the east by the Cascade Range. This long mostly level alluvial plain has some scattered areas of low basalt, and contrasts with productive farmland and large urban areas. It has the fastest-growing human population in the state resulting in challenges due to land-use changes.

Special needs

Yellow-breasted Chats are found in dense, brushy thickets, especially near streams.

Limiting factors

Loss of larger patches of dense, riparian shrublands, as well as altered disturbance regimes that produce needed ephemeral habitat, pose threats to this species. Changes in ground or surface water and livestock grazing in riparian areas can also adversely affect Yellow-breasted Chats.

Data gaps

Assess trends. Evaluate the effects of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism on breeding success.

Conservation actions

Restore large, dense thickets of native shrub-dominated riparian habitat.

Key reference or plan

Conservation Strategy for Landbirds in Lowlands and Valleys of Western Oregon and Washington