THE WORLD BIRDS - An Online Bird Book
SEARCH 

MUSCICAPIDAE

Muscicapidae is a large family of small birds restricted to the Old World. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, take their prey on the wing. The appearance of these birds is very varied, but they mostly have weak songs and harsh calls. They vary 10 to 21 cm. Many species are a dull brown in color. Most have broad, flattened, bill, suited to catching insects in flight, although the few ground foraging species typically have finer bills. They live in almost every environment with a suitable supply of trees, from dense forest to open scrub. The more northerly species migrate south in winter, ensuring a continuous diet of insects.


CHATS And Allies

Order Passeriformes    Family Muscicapidae


Genus Cercomela
Found: mainly Africa. The typical Cercomela plumage is fairly plain grey or brown upperparts and paler underparts. The tail pattern is often distinctive, and may be useful in distinguishing the African species. The long legs and feet are black and the bill is short and straight. The sexes are similar in plumage.

Blackstart  Oenanthe melanura also Cercomela melanura  Found: north Africa, southwest Asia
The Blackstart has bluish-gray or gray-brown plumage; black tail.
Image by: 1) Ofer  2) Ps_Jeremy - Isreal  3) sjahanmi - oman


Chat, Moorland   Cercomela sordida  Found: Africa
The Moorland Chat has grayish-brown upperparts; lighter underparts; short tail; long legs.
Image by: 1, 5) Joseph Mochoge - Eburu Kenya  2) Jorge Lascar - Mt. Kilimanjaro    3) Steve Garvie - Kenya  4) Dave Curtis - Kenya
1) Female 5) Male






Genus Cossypha
The Robin-Chats main diet is insects.
Found in: Africa

Chat, Archer's Robin- Cossypha archeri  Found: DR Congo, Rwanda, Uganda
Image by: 1) Field Museum  2) Tom Tarrant


Chat,_Blue-shouldered_Robin- Cossypha cyanocampter  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) Esther - Kenya  3) Nik_Borrow - Uganda


Chat, Cape Robin- also Cape Robin Cossypha caffra Found: Africa
The Cape Robin-chat has gray upperparts; black eye patch; white supercilium; orange throat, breast; gray belly.
Image by: 1, 2) Derek Keats  3) Alan Manson  - Pietermaritzburg, South Africa   4, 5) Dick Daniels - Johannesburg, South Africa    6, 7) Dick - Plettenberg Bay, South Africa



Chat,_Chorister_Robin-  Cossypha dichroa  Found: South Africa, Swaziland
The Chorister Robin-Chat has dark upperparts; darker crown, ear-coverts; yellow-orange underparts; no eye-stripe.
Image by: 1) Alan Manson  2) Ian White - South Africa  3) Paul Barnard - South Africa  4, 5) Alan_Manson - South Africa



Chat, Gray-winged Robin- Cossypha polioptera  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Dave Curtis - Kenya  2) Steve Garvie - Kenya


Chat,_Mountain_Robin- Cossypha isabellae  Found: Cameroon, Nigeria
Image by: 1) Lee Hunter  2) Nik_Borrow  3) Marcel Holyoak


Chat, Olive-flanked Robin- Cossypha anomala  Found: Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia
Image by: 1) Josh Engle / Field Museum - Malawi  2) Marcel Holyoak - Malawi  3) Nik_Borrow - Zambia


Chat, Red-capped Robin-  Cossypha natalensis  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - specimen in Nairobi National Museum, Kenya  2) Arno Meintjes   3) Derek_Keats - South Africa


Chat,_Ruppell's_Robin- Cossypha semirufa  Found: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania
Image by: 1) Francesco Veronesi - Kenya  2) Dave Curtis - Kenya  3) Nik_Borrow - Mount Kenya


Chat, Snowy-crowned Robin-  Cossypha niveicapilla  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) BS Thurner Hof  2, 4) Sandy Cole - San Diego Zoo  3) Alois Staudacher  


Chat, White-browed Robin- Cossypha heuglini   Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Joseph Mochage - Kenya  2, 3, 4) DIck Daniels - Tanzania  5, 6, 7) Dick -Kenya
1) Chick



Chat,_White-crowned_ Robin-   Cossypha albicapilla also Cossypha albicapillus  Found: Africa
Image by: 1, 3 Dick Daniels - San Diego Zoo  2) Dick Daniels - Jacksonville Zoo in Florida  4) Drew_Avery - London Zoo


Chat,_White-headed_Robin-   Cossypha heinrichi  Found: Angola, DR Congo
The White-headed Robin-Chat  has olive-brown upperparts; white head; rufous-orange rump; gray under-wing; rufous-chestnut underparts.
Image by: 1) Roseline Beudels et. al.  2) Charles_Davies - Angola


Chat,_White-throated_Robin-  Cossypha humeralis  Found: Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe
Image by: 1) Ian White - South Africa  2) Alan Manson - South Africa  3) Markus - South Africa



Genus Cossyphicula - 1 species

Chat, White-bellied Robin-   Cossyphicula roberti Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Lee Hunter



Genus Emarginata
The three species in the genus were previously placed in the genus Cercomela.

Chat, Karoo  Emarginata schlegelii also Cercomela schlegelii  Found: Africa
The Karoo Chat has gray upperparts; rufous patch behind the eye; black tail with white outer feathers; white underparts; black bill, legs.
Image by: 1, 2) Alan Manson - South Africa  3) Dick Daniels - South Africa near Cape Town
1) Juvenile


Chat,_Sickle-winged  Emarginata sinuata also Cercomela sinuata Found: southern Africa
The Sickle-winged Chat has dark gray upperparts; brown wings; rufous patch behind eye; buff-pink tail, rump; off-white underparts; black legs.
Image by: 1, 2) Francesco_Veronesi - South Africa  3, 4) Johann_duPreez


Chat,_Tractrac Emarginata tractrac also  Cercomela tractrac  Found: Angola, Nambia, South Africa
The Nambia subspecies pale upperparts; gray wings; gray tail markings; white underparts. Southeast from has brown upperparts; blackish flight feathers and tail markings; white underparts.
Image by: 1) Hans_Hillewaert  2) Ian_White - South Africa  3) Nik_Borrow - Namibia  4) Alan_Manson - South Africa 



Genus Enicurus
Found in: southeast Asia
The forktails have a deeply forked tail, mainly black and white plumage. Most have a white forehead.

Forktail,_Black-backed   Enicurus immaculatusFound: southeast Asia
The Black-backed Forktail has black mantle, face, crown; white forehead, underparts.mainly black wing with broad white stripe.
Image by: 1) Tareq Uddin Ahmed  2) Yunus_Mony


Forktail,_Chestnut-naped  Enicurus ruficapillus  Found: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand
The Chestnut-naped Forktail has black upperparts; chestnut nape, rear-crown; black throat; white underparts with mottled breast.
Image by: 1) Patko_Erica  2, 3) Francesco_Veronesi


Forktail,_Little  Enicurus scouleri   Found: Asia 
The Little Forktail black and white or bluish-black and white plumage.
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Hiyashi Haka  4) PJeganathan  5) Robert_tdc



Forktail,_Slaty-backed  Enicurus schistaceus  Found: southeast Asia, Malaysia
The Slaty-backed Forktail has mainly black upperparts; white wing-bar; black and white banded tail; white rump; white underparts.
Image by: 1) Kannan  2) Alestair Rae  3) drcaesarphotography


Forktail,_Spotted  Enicurus maculatus  Found: south central Asia
The Spotted Forktail black back with white spots; white forehead fore-crown; broad white wingbar; deeply forked black and white tail.
Image by: 1) Olga007 2) Koshy_Koshy 3) Shrikant_Rao - India


Forktail,_Sunda  Enicurus velatus  Found: Java and Sumatra (Indonesia)
The Sunda Forktail has dark gray upperparts; white forehead, underparts, rump. Female has more white on forehead than male. Female has brown crown; male is gray.
Image by: 1, 2) Lip_Kee  3) James_Eaton


Forktail,_White-crowned  Enicurus leschenaulti  Found: southeast Asia, Indonesia
The White-crowned Forktail has mainly black plumage; white fore-crown, parts of wings, tail; white belly. Juvenile lacks white on head.
Image by: 1) Ron_Knight  2) Patko Erica  3) Hanifridz



Genus Myrmecocichla  Also known as Thamnolaea
Found in: Africa

Chat,_Congo_Moor-  Myrmecocichla tholloni Found: Angola, DR Congo, Gabon
Image by: 1) brun-x  2, 3) Maans_Booysen - Angola


Chat,_Northern_Anteater- also  Anteater-Chat  Myrmecocichla aethiopFound: central Africa
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Dick Daniels  4)  Sergey_Yeliseev


Chat,_Ruaha  Myrmecocichla collaris  Found: Burundi , Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia
The Ruaha Chat was formerly considered a subspecies of the Arnott' Chat (White-headed Chat).
Image by: 1) Alexander Yates - Rwanda  2) Brendan_Ryan - Uganda


Chat, Ruppell's Black-  Myrmecocichla melaena  Found: Eritrea, Ethiopia
Image by: 1) Lip Kee  2) Nik_Borrow - Ethiopia


Chat, Sooty  Myrmecocichla nigra   Found: Africa
The male Sooty Chat has mainly black plumage; white wing patch which may be hidden. Female has dark brown plumage; white wing patch which may be hidden.
Image by: 1,  2) Lip Kee Yap - Masai Mara, Kenya  3) Steve_Garvie - Kenya  4) Charles_J_Sharp - Uganad
1) Female 2, 3) Male


Chat, Southern Anteater-  Myrmecocichla formicivora   Found: southern Africa
Derek Keats- South Africa  2) Ian White  3) Alistair Rae   4) Brendan_Ryan - South Africa
1, 2) Female 3, 4) Male


Chat,_White-fronted_Black-  Myrmecocichla albifrons  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Nigel Voaden  2) Allan_Hopkins - Gambia  3, 4) Nik_Borrow - Ethiopia


Chat,_White-headed_Black-  Also Arnot's Chat  Myrmecocichla arnotti  Found: Africa
The male White-headed Black-chat has mainly black plumage; white crown; white wing patch. Female similar with black cap; white throat, neck.
Image by: 1) Nrg800  2) Francesco_Veronesi - Namibia  3) Lip Kee - Botawana  4) Derek_Keats - Zimbabwe
2) Female  4 - 6) Male



Genus Namibornis - 1 species

Chat, Herero   Namibornis herero  Found: Angola, Nambia
Image by: 1) Ian White - Namibia  2) Jerry Oldenettel - Nambia



Genus Pinarornis - 1 species

Chat, Boulder  Pinarornis plumosus   Found: Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe
The Boulder Chat has mainly brownish-black plumage. Female duller than male.
Image by: 1, 2, 4) Derek_Keats - Zimbabwe  3) Ian_White - Botswana



Genus Saxicola
Found in: Europe, Asia, Africa

Bushchat,_Buff-streaked  Saxicola bifasciatus  Found: Lesotho, South Africa, and Swaziland.
Image by: 1, 3, 4) Derek_Keats - South Africa  2) Ian_White - South America
2) Juvenile


Bushchat,_Gray  Saxicola ferreus  Found: Asia 
Image by: 1, 4) Jason_Thompson - Thailand  2, 5) Jerry_Oldenettel - Thailand  3) Imran_Shah - Pakistan  6)  Koshy_Koshy.
1 - 3) Female  4 - 6) Male



Bushchat,_Jerdon's  Saxicola jerdoni  Found: Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand Vietnam
Image by: 1) John Gould  2) Rishikesh_Gogoi - India 3) Gary_Kinard  4) David_Fisher - Myanmar
1, 2) Female 3, 4) Male


Bushchat,_Pied   Saxicola caprata Found: southern Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia
The male Pied Bushchat has mainly black plumage; white lower-belly, rump; maybe white wing-patch. Female has dull brown plumage, slightly streaked.
Image by: 1) Rose Thumboor  2, 3) Vijay_Ismavel  4) Harvinder Chandigarh - India 5) Yogendra Joshi - India  6) PJeganathan 
1, 2, 3) Female   4, 5, 6) Male



Bushchat,_White-browed also  Stolizcka's Bushchat  Saxicola macrorhynchus Found: India, Pakistan
Image by: 1) Tarique_Sani  2) Sumeet Moghe - India  3) Subramanya CK  4) Koshy_Koshy


Bushchat,_Timor  also White-bellied Bushchat  Saxicola gutturalis  Found: Lesser Sundas (Indonesia)
Image by: 1) Oki Hidayat  2) Ron_Knight 3) Marcel Holyoak


Bushchat,_White-throated also Hodgson's Bushchat  Saxicola insignis  Found: Asia
Image by: 1) Mutzel  2, 3) Subramanya - India
1) Adult male (left); juvenile male (right)


Stonechat (European) Saxicola rubicola   Found: Europe, Africa
The breeding male Stonechat has black upperparts, head; orange throat, breast; white vent, neck patch. Female has brown upperparts, head; orange underpart.
Image by: 1) Frank_Vassen - Belgium  2) Dixonsej  3) Myosotis Scorpioides - England  4) Causinho - Spain   5) Hennie_Cuper
1, 2) Female   3, 4, 5) Male



Stonechat, African  Saxicola torquatus  Found: Africa
The male African Stonechat has black upperparts, head; white half collar; dark orange-brown breast; white or pale orange belly. Female has brown upperparts, head; chestnut-buff underparts.
Image by: 1) Arno_Meintjes  2) Derek Keats - near Pretoria  3) Ian White   4) Agustin_Povedano   5, 6) Dick Daniels - Madagascar 
1) Female   2 - 6) Male



Stonechat, Canary Islands also  Fuerteventura Stonechat  Saxicola dacotiae  Found: Fuerteventura (island in Canary Islands)
The nale Canary Islands Stonechat has dark brown upperparts with blackish streaks; blackish head; white supercilium; white neck sides;light orange-chestnut breast; white wing-bar; whitish belly. Female is washed out version of male with no white neck sides.
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) Frank_Vassen


Stonechat,_Reunion   Saxicola tectes  Found: island of Reunion (Indian Ocean)
The male Reunion Stonechat has black upperparts; white supercilium (may be absent); white fore-collar; white underparts with variable sized orange breat-patch. Female has browner upperparts; more buff underparts.
Image by: 1) David_Monniaux  2) benoitnabholz  3) Jerry_Oldenettel  4) Dunog  5) Navez 



Stonechat,_Siberian  Saxicola maurus  Found: Europe, Asia
The breeding male Siberiain Stonechat has black upperparts, head; white half collar; pale orange on unerparts or white. Female has brown upperparts, head; chestnut-buff underparts Nonbreeding male intermediate between breeding male and female.
Image by: 1, 6) stfbfc  2) Imran_Shah - Pakistan  3) Lip_Kee - India  4) Ray Cui  5) Sidheeq - India



Stonechat,_White-tailed
  Saxicola leucurus  Found: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan
The male White-tailed Stonechat blackish upperparts; black head; white collar; rufous throat patch; white patch on wing-covert.
Image by: 1) Brendan_Ryan - Myanmar 2) Munish Kaushik   3) Werner_Witte - Nepal 4) Vaibhavcho  
1, 2) Female  3, 4) Male


Whinchat  Saxicola rubetra  Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The Whinchat has brownish upperpart; white supercilium; pale throat, breast; white belly; blackish tail. Male has darker upperparts.
Image by: 1) Yaroslavl Oblas - Russia 2) Jörg Hempel - Germany   3) Frank_Vassen 4) Andrej_Chudy - Romania 5) Cristiano Crolle - Italy
1, 2) Female 3 - 5) Male




Genus Thamnolaea

Chat,_Mocking_Cliff-  Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris  Found: Africa
The male Mocking Cliff-Chat has glossy black upperparts, breast; white shoulder patch; chestnut belly, rump. Female has dark gray upperparts, breast; chestnut belly, rump.
Image by: 1) Masteraah  2) Joseph Mochoge - Kenya  3, 5, 6) Derek_Keats - South Africa  4) Dick Daniels - specimen in Nairobi National Museum, Kenya    7) Alan_Manson - South Africa 8) Darren Bellerby - Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya
1 - 3) Female 3 - 8) Male




Genus Xenocopsychus - 1 species

Chat, Angola Cave-  Xenocopsychus ansorgei  also Cossypha ansorgei Found: Angola, Namibia
Image by: 1) Thomas Hohis - Namibia  2) Nik Borrow - Angola






Back to Top