Yard Bird

Late this afternoon a long tail was twitched deep in the dense heart of our hackberry hedge. It just didn’t look right for the usual Curve-billed Thrasher or Abert’s Towhee, and sure enough, a couple of minutes’ windowside vigilance produced wonderful clear views of a Yellow-breasted Chat, a first for our desert yard. The bird had zero-contrast gray lores, but I don’t know whether all males have black faces this time of year.

As I’ve relished this sighting, I’ve realized that I have a long history of “yard chats.” The first one of this species I ever saw was an individual out of habitat in a southeast Nebraska back yard; and the first I ever saw in Illinois dropped in to brighten up a little patch of soggy woods that I considered, well, an extension of our yard. And now this one, gleaning eggs and insects from the birdiest bush for miles.