Karoo chat

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Karoo chat
Cercomela schlegelii -Northern Cape, South Africa-6.jpg
In Northern Cape, South Africa
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
Genus: Emarginata
Species:
E. schlegelii
Binomial name
Emarginata schlegelii
(Wahlberg, 1855)
Synonyms

Cercomela schlegelii

The Karoo chat (Emarginata schlegelii) is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is a common resident breeder in southwesternmost Angola, western Namibia and western South Africa. Its habitat is Karoo and desert scrub in the south, extending to the escarpment zone in the north.

Contents

Taxonomy

The first formal description of the Karoo chat was by the Swedish naturalist Johan August Wahlberg in 1855 under the binomial name Erithacus schlegelii. [2] [3] The species was subsequently placed in the genus Cercomela introduced by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1856. [4] It was moved to its current genus, Emarginata , after molecular phylogenetic studies published in 2010 and 2012 found that Cercomela was polyphyletic. [5] [6] [7] The specific name commemorates the German ornithologist, Hermann Schlegel. [8]

There are four subspecies: [7]

Description

Juvenile in Northern Cape, South Africa Cercomela schlegelii -Northern Cape, South Africa -juvenile-6.jpg
Juvenile in Northern Cape, South Africa

The Karoo chat is 16–18 cm long and weighs around 32 gm. Its upperparts are grey, but it has a rufous patch behind the eye, and the tail is black with white outer feathers. Its underparts are white, the short straight bill, legs and feet are black and the eye is dark. The sexes are similar, but the juvenile is spotted with buff and has scaly underparts..

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.

The Karoo chat has chak-chak and trrat-trrat calls.

Behaviour

The Karoo chat builds a cup-shaped nest of straw and leaves on the ground, usually under a bush or shrub. It lays two to four green eggs. This species is monogamous, mating for life.

The Karoo chat is usually seen singly or in pairs. It forages from the ground for insects including butterflies, bees, wasps, locusts and ants. Prey is typically taking in a short flight.

Conservation status

This common species has a large range, with an estimated extent of 1,100,000 km². The population size is believed to be large, and the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheatear</span> Genus of birds

The wheatears are passerine birds of the genus Oenanthe. They were formerly considered to be members of the thrush family, Turdidae, but are now more commonly placed in the flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. This is an Old World group, but the northern wheatear has established a foothold in eastern Canada and Greenland and in western Canada and Alaska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old World flycatcher</span> Family of birds

The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World, with the exception of several vagrants and two species, Bluethroat and Northern Wheatear, found also in North America. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing. The family includes 344 species and is divided into 51 genera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue rock thrush</span> Species of bird

The blue rock thrush is a species of chat. This thrush-like Old World flycatcher was formerly placed in the family Turdidae. It breeds in southern Europe, northwest Africa, and from Central Asia to northern China and Malaysia. The blue rock thrush is the official national bird of Malta and was shown on the Lm 1 coins that were part of the country's former currency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackstart</span> Species of bird

The blackstart is a chat found in desert regions in North Africa, the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula. It is resident throughout its range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain wheatear</span> Species of bird

The mountain wheatear or mountain chat is a small insectivorous passerine bird that is endemic to southwestern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown rock chat</span> Species of bird (Oenanthe fusca)

The brown rock chat or Indian chat is a bird species of the family Muscicapidae. It is found mainly in northern and central India. It is often found on old buildings and rocky areas. It resembles a female Indian robin but lacks the reddish vent and differs in posture and behaviour apart from being larger. In flight it bears some resemblance to thrushes and redstarts. It feeds on insects, captured mainly on the ground. It was formerly placed as the sole species in the genus Cercomela but is now included with the wheatears in the genus Oenanthe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiscal flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The fiscal flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It is a resident breeder in Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique and Swaziland, and a vagrant to Namibia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Familiar chat</span> Species of bird

The familiar chat is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is a common resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara in rocky and mountainous habitat and around human habitation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tractrac chat</span> Species of bird

The tractrac chat is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is a common resident breeder in southernmost Angola, western Namibia and western South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sickle-winged chat</span> Species of bird

The sickle-winged chat or sicklewing chat is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae endemic to southern Africa. It is a common resident breeder in South Africa and Lesotho, and is also found in southernmost areas of Botswana and Namibia. Its habitat is Karoo scrub, short grassland, and barren sandy or stony areas. In western coastal areas, it also occurs on agricultural land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moorland chat</span> Species of bird

The moorland chat, also known as the alpine chat or hill chat, is a species of songbird in the Old World flycatcher family. It is endemic to north-east Africa where it is common in its habitat. It lives at high altitudes on moors and grassland, usually above 3,400 m (11,100 ft), but can live as low as 2,100 m (6,900 ft). It has a short tail and long legs. It is bold and will approach people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pale flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The pale flycatcher is a passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae, found in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The sombre rock chat is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Ethiopia and Somalia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.

The brown-tailed rock chat is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Himalayan rubythroat</span> Species of bird

The Himalayan rubythroat is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is closely related to the Siberian rubythroat which however lacks the distinctive white tail-tips and white tail bases. It was also previously considered conspecific with the Chinese rubythroat, together called the white-tailed rubythroat. It is found along the Himalayan ranges from Afghanistan to Myanmar. Three subspecies are recognized across its wide range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufous-headed robin</span> Species of bird

The rufous-headed robin is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in central China. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and temperate shrubland. This poorly known species is thought to be threatened by habitat loss.

<i>Phoenicurus</i> Genus of birds

Phoenicurus is a genus of passerine birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae, native to Europe, Asia and Africa. They are named redstarts from their orange-red tails. They are small insectivores, the males mostly brightly coloured in various combinations of red, blue, white, and black, the females light brown with a red tail. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 led to a reorganization of the Old World flycatchers family in which the two species in Rhyacornis and the single species in Chaimarrornis were merged into Phoenicurus.

<i>Chamaetylas</i> Genus of birds

Chamaetylas is a genus of small, mainly insectivorous birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae that are native to sub-Saharan Africa.

<i>Emarginata</i> (bird) Genus of birds

Emarginata is a genus of birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae that occur in southern Africa.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2016). "Emarginata schlegelii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22710359A94243283. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22710359A94243283.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. Mayr, Ernst; Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, eds. (1964). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 10. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 100.
  3. Wahlberg, Johan August (1855). "Nya fogelarter från Damara-landet i södra Africa". Öfversigt af Kongl. Vetenskaps Akademiens Förhandlingar. 12: 213.
  4. Mayr, Ernst; Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, eds. (1964). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 10. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 96.
  5. Outlaw, R.K.; Voelker, G.; Bowie, R.C.K. (2010). "Shall we chat? Evolutionary relationships in the genus Cercomela (Muscicapidae) and its relation to Oenanthe reveals extensive polyphyly among chats distributed in Africa, India and the Palearctic". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 55 (1): 284–292. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.09.023. PMID   19772925.
  6. Aliabadian, M.; Kaboli, M.; Förschler, M.I.; Nijman, V.; Chamani, A.; Tillier, A.; Prodon, R.; Pasquet, E.; Ericson, P.G.P.; Zuccon, D. (2012). "Convergent evolution of morphological and ecological traits in the open-habitat chat complex (Aves, Muscicapidae: Saxicolinae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 65 (1): 35–45. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.05.011. PMID   22634240.
  7. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David (eds.). "Chats, Old World flycatchers". World Bird List Version 7.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  8. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p.  350. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.