This largest of Iowa’s warblers superficially resembles other warblers, but differs from them in several ways. Most prominent is its vocalizations which include an odd assortment of grunts, squawks, and whistles that seem more similar to the thrashers than to other warblers. The chat typically inhabits thick tangles of shrubs, vines, and overgrown pastures where it spends much of its time out-of-sight but singing loudly. In Iowa it is mainly found in the southeastern quarter of the state but occasionally wanders elsewhere. Even within that range, its distibution is quite spotty with much seemingly good habitat uninhabited. It apparently was more common in Iowa a century ago but beyond habitat loss we have little explanation for any population decline here.
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indicates a designated IBA.