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Atlas Results

Although no breeding was confirmed during the Atlas, Yellow-Breasted Chats were observed in 50 squares in association with riparian areas and dense coulees. They were detected on only 18 point counts, excluding them from the mapping analysis; their restricted habitat niche in Saskatchewan having likely been under-sampled. A paddle trip down the South Saskatchewan River from the Alberta border to Miry Bay revealed Yellow-breasted Chats singing in each of the 13 squares traversed. Since many southern rivers are seldom paddled by birders, it is likely that there are more Yellow-breasted Chats lurking along riverbanks south of the boreal forest than were observed during the Atlas.

Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:

Until the 1940s, the provincial breeding range was restricted to the Cypress Hills uplands and the Frenchman River in the extreme southwest (Soper 1942, Godfrey 1950). Since then, the Yellow-breasted Chat has extended its distribution northeast to include river valleys in the aspen grove subregion (Smith 1996). Breeds extensively across the US but is restricted to the extreme south of western Canada and Ontario. Winters in eastern and western Mexico and through Central America.

Yellow-breasted Chats breed mainly in shrubby riparian flats and coulees associated with major rivers and their tributaries, more rarely in sand dune areas with stands of buffaloberry , saskatoon , chokecherry , pin cherry, hawthorn, or willow. Often stands of mature deciduous woods are nearby. Sometimes seen in cities or farmsteads on migration, these birds have never been known to nest in these locations.

The Yellow-breasted Chat is an uncommon and local summer resident. In the west it occurs as far north as the North Saskatchewan River near Maymont and Borden and the South Saskatchewan south of Saskatoon. In the east it is found mainly along the Qu'Appelle River and its tributaries and in the Souris River drainage.

Original text by Robert D. Wapple and Lorrie Sielski. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky

Read more about the Yellow-breasted Chat in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.

LeeAnn M. Latremouille

Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Yellow-breasted Chat in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=YBCH&lang=en [16 Feb 2026]