Cover image of Chat Flycatcher by Richard Johnstone – Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Northern Cape – BirdPix No. 162613
The Chat Flycatcher belongs to the family MUSCIPAPIDAE. This large family is currently made up of 351 species, which are divided into 54 genera. Birds in this family are mainly small insectivorous songbirds and include Chats, Robin-chats, Scrub-robins, Wheatears, Old World Flycatchers, etc. They are small passerine birds and are largely restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa, and Asia). The family presents many problems, as taxonomists disagree on which of the flycatcher groups should be included.
Identification
Adult Chat Flycatchers are rather drab and nondescript birds. They are large, almost thrush-sized flycatchers with a slender build and longish legs. The tail and wings are longer than those of other brown chats and flycatchers.
Van Zylsrus district, Northern Cape
Photo by Kyle Finn
The upper parts from the forehead to the rump are a uniform, dull greyish-brown. The face is dull brown with an inconspicuous pale eye ring and an inconspicuous buffy stripe above the lores, between the eye and the bill. The upper tail is dark brown with a rufous tint. The upper-wing is dark brown with prominent pale edges to the flight feathers, and a fairly conspicuous pale flash on the edge of the folded wing. The underwings are plain buffy-brown. The chin and throat are greyish-brown and very pale. The breast and flanks are pale brown, the flanks often have a warmer slightly rufous tint. The belly is slightly paler and more buff-coloured than the breast. The bill, legs and feet are black, and the eyes are dark brown. The sexes are alike.
Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana
Photo by John Fincham
Juveniles are more distinctively plumaged than adults. The upper parts are dark brown overall, with numerous, off-white streaks and spots. The face and throat are often dark. Underparts carry similar ground colouration to the adults but with some darker mottling, especially on the breast and upper belly. They are difficult to tell apart from the juveniles of other similar flycatchers.
Karoo-Gariep Nature Reserve, Northern Cape
Photo by Jon Blanco
The Chat Flycatcher is easily mistaken for other brown flycatchers and Chats. Their overall size and choice of habitat are key identification aids. It is perhaps most likely to be mistaken for the Marico Flycatcher (Melaenornis mariquensis). The latter is smaller, with a far clearer contrast between the whitish underparts and the richer brown upper parts. The Sickle-winged Chat (Emarginata sinuata) is also similar and is found in much the same habitat. However, the Chat Flycatcher can be told apart from all chat species by lacking their coloured or patterned tails.
Near Hanover, Northern Cape
Photo by Jaco Botes
Status and Distribution
A common resident or local nomad. The Chat Flycatcher is near-endemic to southern Africa and occurs in the arid and semi-arid parts of the region. Its distribution ranges from the drier inland parts of the Eastern and Western Cape provinces, and throughout most of the Northern Cape. It is widespread in Namibia and Botswana but is absent from the Namib Desert and much of north-eastern Namibia and northern Botswana. Outside of southern Africa, its range extends marginally into southern Angola.
Details for map interpretation can be found here.
The Chat Flycatcher is not threatened and is well-represented in protected areas. It may have increased in numbers in drought-ravaged regions that have lost most of their large trees in the last 20 years. However, the population south of Elands Bay in the south-western part of the Western Cape has been lost through habitat destruction. It was regular there before 1950 but is now absent.
Near Upington, Northern Cape
Photo by Lappies Labuschagne
Habitat
The Chat Flycatcher favours arid, open habitats with low bushes and few trees, and often in places with sparse grass cover. It is most numerous in the semi-arid shrublands of the Nama Karoo in the dry Vachellia (Acacia) savanna of the Kalahari, followed by the dry, sparse woodlands of western Namibia. The Chat Flycatcher requires bushes or fence posts to perch on and is uncommon in areas of open veld with few shrubs.
Photo by Ryan Tippett
Behaviour
The Chat Flycatcher is generally resident and sedentary but is nomadic in the southern Nama Karoo, where it is present and breeding in some years, and often completely absent for the following 2 or 3 years.
Carnarvon district, Northern Cape
Photo by Ryan Tippett
The Chat Flycatcher is generally encountered solitarily, in pairs, or in small family groups. They are rather quiet and lethargic birds, spending much of their time perched atop a bush or fence post. The flight of the Chat Flycatcher is powerful and slightly undulating. They generally do not fly very far.
Mokala National Park, Northern Cape
Photo by Cameron Meyer
Most foraging is conducted from a low perch, like the top of a bush or fence post, actively scanning the ground for prey. Drops to the ground near prey and hops after it with wings partly spread. Prey is eaten on the ground, or may be carried back to a perch. Also catches prey aerially, but its flight is not as agile as with other flycatchers. The Chat Flycatcher can also hover to scan for prey if no perches are available. The Chat Flycatcher is predominantly an insectivore, consuming a wide range of insects such as termites, bugs, beetles, ants, grasshoppers, and small reptiles.
The Chat Flycatcher is well adapted to arid environments and does not need to drink.
Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, Northern Cape
Photo by Kyle Finn
The Chat Flycatcher has a protracted breeding season that is almost year-round. However, most breeding takes place during spring and summer, with a peak between October and January. Breeding is determined by rainfall, regardless of the season. It is thought to be monogamous and is a solitary nester with nesting pairs normally widely spaced.
The nest is a large, roughly made bowl placed in a low bush, usually around 1 meter above the ground. The nest is composed of dry plant stems like coarse grass and twigs. Inner cup is built with finer materialand is usually thickly lined with plant down. The nest is variably concealed by foliage. Aromatic plants are often chosen as the nesting site, including cudweed (Gnaphalium spp), everlastings (Helichrysum spp), Ankerkaroo (Pentzia incana) and Karoo rosemaries (Eriocephalus spp). This is thought to keep insects like flies away from the nest.
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Northern Cape
Photo by Richard Johnstone
2 to 3 (rarely 4) eggs are laid per clutch. The eggs are greenish blue with bold, variably sized, dark reddish brown and grey spots. The incubation period takes 14 to 15 days and is done entirely by the female. The male remains nearby provisions the incubating female with food at the nest.
The newly hatched young are currently undescribed. The nestling period is variable, lasting for 11 to 14 days or so. The young are fed by both parents. The Chat Flycatcher is multi-brooded and little time is wasted between breeding attempts.
Brak Farm, Carnarvon district, Northern Cape
Photo by Ryan Tippett
Further Resources
Species text adapted from the first Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP1), 1997.
The use of photographs by Cameron Meyer, Jaco Botes, John Fincham, Jon Blanco, Kyle Finn, Lappies Labuschagne, and Richard Johnstone is acknowledged.
Virtual Museum (BirdPix > Search VM > By Scientific or Common Name).
Other common names: Bradornis infuscatus, Melaenornis infuscatus (Alt. Scientific); Grootvlieëvanger (Afrikaans); Gobemouche traquet (French); Drosselschnäpper (German); Lijstervliegenvanger (Dutch); Papa-moscas-chasco (Portuguese)
Recommended citation format: Tippett RM 2024. Chat Flycatcher Melaenornis infuscatus. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2024/10/25/chat-flycatcher-melaenornis-infuscatus/
List of bird species in this format is available here.
Vosburg district, Northern Cape
Photo by Ryan Tippett
