Africa Wild Bird Book

[Mel]

591. Sickle-winged Chat Emarginata sinuata (Vlaktespekvreter)
Order: Passeriformes. Family: Muscicapidae



Description
14-15 cm. About sparrow-size. The crown, nape, mantle and back of adult birds are light grey-brown, and the underparts and indistinct eyebrow are paler. Obvious pale eye-ring.The wings are dark brown and buff. The outer primary has a 1-cm-long, sickle-like tip. The rump and tail are brownish pink, except for a dark triangle at the end of the tail. The bill, legs and feet are black and the eyes dark brown. The sexes are similar.
The juvenile has buff tips to its feathers.
Similar species: It is more slightly built and longer legged than the Familiar Chat. The dark upperparts contrasting with the paler underparts distinguish this species from the more uniformly coloured Familiar Chat. It further differs in having the (paler) salmon-buff on the rumped confined to the tail base. The Sickle-winged Chat and the similarly pale Tractrac Chat, which has a white rump, are also difficult to distinguish from a distance.

Distribution
Endemic to southern Africa, occurring from southern Namibia to the Northern, Western and Eastern Cape, extending into the Free State and Lesotho.

Habitat
Occurs on montane grasslands and slopes as well as in shrubby fynbos.

Diet
Eats mainly invertebrates taken on the ground after dropping down from its perch on a shrub or rock, or while hopping on the ground. Also eats fruit.

Breeding
This species is monogamous, mating for life. The nest is a cup built of twigs and coarse grass and lined with soft, dry grass, fluffy seeds and other fine plant material. It is typically placed in soil at the base of a shrub, grass tuft or stone, or occasionally in a hole in a wall. Egg-laying season is from August-March, peaking from October-January in most areas, but earlier in the Western Cape. It lays 2-4 pale greenish blue eggs, lightly speckled with reddish brown. The female incubates the eggs for 14-16 days until they hatch.

Call
A soft chak-chak call and a warbled song.

Status
Uncommon to locally common resident, endemic. Rated as least concern.

[Mel]

591. Sickle-winged Chat Emarginata sinuata (Vlaktespekvreter)



Links:
Species text Sabap1
Sabap2
Newman's birds of Southern Africa

[Toko]

592. Karoo Chat Emarginata schlegelii (Karoospekvreter)
Order: Passeriformes. Family: Muscicapidae

© nan
Karoo National Park

Description
Smallish (grading from smaller size of Familiar Chat in N, to larger size of Mountain Chat in S); grey, paler below; rump usually grey; tail longish, white at sides with long central black triangle. Iris brown; bill, legs and feet black.
Adult: Forehead, crown, nape, sides of neck, mantle, back and scapulars uniform dark grey. Rump grey; upper tail coverts slightly paler grey. Tail black; outer 2 pairs of rectrices with white outer webs, T4 and T3 with reduced white on outer web. Flight feathers and upper wing coverts blackish brown. Inner secondaries and tertials with narrow greyish white fringes, coverts with broad brownish-grey fringes. Chin, throat and breast pale grey, shading to whitish on belly and undertail coverts.
Immature: Upper parts spotted with buff, underparts scaled blackish.
Similar species: This species is paler than the similar grey form of the female Mountain Wheatear, from which it also differs in having a grey (not white) rump and completely white outer tail feathers. Its larger size and all-white outer tail feathers prevent confusion with the Tractrac or Sickle-winged chats. Tractrac Chat has extensive white at base of tail and white lower rump. Sickle-winged Chat has rump and outer tail pink (not grey and white, respectively).

Distribution
Near-endemic to southern Africa, occurring from south-western Angola through Namibia to the Western and Northern Cape, marginally extending into the Free State and the Eastern Cape.

Habitat
It generally prefers succulent shrubland or stony hillsides within the Karoo; in the Namib Desert it prefers perennial grassland on stony and gravelly plains. It rarely wanders into villages, settlements and gardens, even if they are adjacent to a favoured habitat.

Diet
It mainly eats insects, doing most of its foraging on the ground, probing the bases of grass tufts and shrubs in search of food. It may also catch termites and other prey in soil mounds, especially if they have been freshly dug by an Aardvark or Bat-eared fox.

Breeding
The nest is built solely by the female in about 8 days, consisting of a deep cup set into a foundation of small twigs and sticks, lined with fluffy seeds or another soft material. It is typically placed on the ground beneath a shrub, usually facing south or south-east to maximise shade during the heat of the day. It can breed opportunistically in response to rain at any time of the year but egg-laying season is mainly from August to March. The female lays 2-4 pale greenish blue eggs, freckled with reddish brown. The chicks are fed by both parents, who often mimic an injury-stricken bird in an attempt to coax a predator away from the nest.

Call
Rattling tirr-tit-tat or tirr-tit-tat-tut or zip-zip-zik-zik-chirp.

Status
Common resident in Karoo; less common in Namib region.

[Toko]

592. Karoo Chat Emarginata schlegelii

© nan
Karoo National Park

Links:
Species text Sabap1
Sabap2
The Larger Illustrated Guide to Birds of Southern Africa
Newman's birds of Southern Africa

[Michele Nel]

590. Tractrac Chat Emarginata tractrac, Cercomela tractrac (Woestynspekvreter)
Order: Passeriformes. Family: Muscicapidae

Description
The Tractrac Chat is 14–15 cm long with a weight of 20 g. Its tail is white with a dark inverted “T” at the tip, reminiscent of the pattern shown by several wheatears. The short straight bill and the legs and feet are black. It has a dark eye. The Namib form found on hummock dunes and at the coast has almost white plumage with grey wings and grey tail marking. The south-eastern form, found in gravel plains has brown upperparts with blackish flight feathers and tail markings. Its underparts are white. The sexes are similar.
The juvenile is more mottled than the adult.
Similar species: This species is smaller than the Karoo Chat which also has the white of the outer tail feathers extending to the tip. It is paler and greyer than Familiar Chats and Sickle-winged Chats, both of which have a darker rump.

Distribution
Near-endemic to southern Africa, occurring from south-western Angola through western Namibia to the Northern Cape, marginally extending into the Western and Eastern Cape.

Habitat
It generally prefers open plains with scattered shrubs, perennial grassland, Karoo and dune shrubland.

Diet
It mainly eats insects, doing most of its foraging on the ground sometimes on gravel roads, as it likes to feed on road-killed beetles.

Breeding
The nest is a deep cup, set into a foundation of dry twigs and sticks and lined with fluffy seeds of plants such as the Karoo rosemary (Eriocephalus). It is typically placed beneath a shrub, next to a stone or inside a Welwitschia mirabilis plant, often facing east or south-east to maximise shade during the heat of the day. Egg-laying season is from about August-April, peaking from September-October. It lays 2-3 eggs, which are incubated by both sexes. The chicks leave the nest after about 18 days, remaining under their parents care for at least 9 weeks.

Call
The Tractrac Chat has a soft fast "tactac" song and a loud chattering territorial defence call.

[Michele Nel]

590. Tractrac Chat Emarginata tractrac (Woestynspekvreter)



Links:
Species Tex Sabap1
Sabap2: http://sabap2.adu.org.za/spp_summary.ph ... &section=3
Biodiversity Explorer; Wikipedia

[Flutterby]

593. Mocking Cliff-chat (formerly known as Mocking Chat) Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris (Dassievoel)
Order: Passeriformes. Family: Muscicapidae

Description
19-21 cm. Eye dark brown; bill, legs and feet black.
Male: Black head and shoulders, white shoulder patch and rufous underparts. Black tail.
Female is a dull grey-brown with rufous underparts and has no white patch on wing.
Juveniles like females.

Distribution: Occurs in a neat band from central Ethiopia through Tanzania, Malawi and northern Mozambique to southern Africa. Here it is locally common in Zimbabwe, south-eastern Botswana, the eastern half of South Africa and southern Mozambique..

Habitat
Cliffs and boulder-strewn river margins.

Diet
It eats insects, fruit and occasionally the nectar of aloes. It does most of its foraging from a perch, pouncing on prey on the ground, but it may also glean food from leaves and branches.

Breeding
The nest is built by both sexes in about a week, consisting of an open cup set into a foundation of twigs, leaves, roots and feathers, lined with the hair of antelopes and hyraxes. It is typically placed in the nest of a striped swallow, sometimes kicking them out while they are in the process of breeding, usually position beneath a rock overhang, bridge, culvert or in a cave. Egg-laying season is from August-December, peaking from September-November. It lays 2-4 eggs, which are incubated solely by the female for about 14-16 days. The chicks are fed by both parents, leaving the nest after about 19-21 days.

Call
Rich and beautiful liquid notes, sometimes in duet. Listen to Bird Call.

Status
Common resident.

[Flutterby]

593. Mocking Cliff-chat Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris (Dassievoel)
Order: Passeriformes. Family: Muscicapidae

© Flutterby
Male

© harrys
Male

© pooky
Male

© BluTuna
Female

Links:
Species text Sabap1
Sabap2
Birds of Botswana

[Flutterby]

595. Ant-eating Chat Myrmecocichla formicivora (Suidelike Swartpiek)
Order: Passeriformes. Family: Muscicapidae

Ant-eating Chat.jpg (27.83 KiB) Viewed 953 times

Description
17-18 cm. Medium-sized chat with a thin bill and thrush-like feet. At rest it appears very plump and short tailed. Entirely dull brown, the males have a white shoulder patch which is not always visible. Eyes are dark brown; bill, legs and feet are black. In flight this species is easily distinguished from other chats by the conspicous white patches on the primaries (separates it from female Mountain Wheatear, which is larger and has white rump).
Female is slightly paler brown and lacks the shoulder patch. Juvenile resembles female but is more mottled.

Distribution
Endemic to southern Africa, occurring across Namibia (absent from the Namib Desert including the Skeleton Coast, but fairly common in Kalahari sands), Botswana and South Africa, while absent from Mozambique and most of Zimbabwe.

Habitat
Grassland dotted with termite mounds, and open, sandy or stony areas.

Diet
It mainly eats insects, especially ants and termites (in winter), doing most of its foraging on the ground in winter, whereas in summer it prefers to pounce on prey from a low perch.

Breeding
Monogamous and some­times cooperative breeder, meaning that the breeding pair are sometimes helped by juveniles from the previous breeding season. The nest is a bowl of dry grass and roots placed in a chamber at the end of a self-excavated burrow, which is usually about 30-150 cm long. Both sexes take about 8-10 days to do the excavation, usually digging into the roof of an Aardvark burrow, sand wall, steam bank or sand quarry. Egg-laying season is from August-March, peaking from October-November. It lays 2-7, usually 3 white eggs, which are incubated solely by the female for about 14-15 days. The chicks are fed by both adults and sometimes helpers, leaving the nest after about 15-18 days. They remain dependent on their parents for about 7-10 days more, after which they still use the burrow for shelter, roosting and as a hiding place when they get alarmed.
Occasionally parasitised by Greater Honeyguide.

Call
The call of the Ant-eating Chat is a plaintive peeeeek and the song, which may include snatches of mimicry of other bird calls, is a pleasant tee-a you, tee-a you uttered in flight or from a prominent perch. Listen to Bird Call.

Status
Common resident, endemic, locally nomadic and usually in pairs or small groups of up to 6 birds.

[Flutterby]

595. Ant-eating Chat Myrmecocichla formicivora

© Flutterby
Female

© pooky
Male

© Kesheshe
Etosha National Park, Namibia

© mposthumus
Female

© Dewi
Juvenile

Links:
Species text Sabap1
Sabap2
Ian Sinclair. SASOL VOELS VAN SUIDER AFRICA (3de UIT)