Chat Flycatcher
Agricola infuscatus
A large, chat-like buff-brown flycatcher. Lighter edges to the flight feathers form a pale wing panel. Individuals, pairs, and loosely associated groups sit on shrubs, fences, and telephone wires in arid shrublands and savanna. They drop to the ground, where they look distinctly chat-like, to hunt insects and small vertebrates. They also hawk for food. The plain brown tail and rump differentiates Chat Flycatcher from all chats. The similar Pale Flycatcher is smaller, lacks the paler wing panel, and prefers moist broadleaf woodland.
Identification
The chat flycatcher is an earthy light reddish-brown in colour and has large, pale wing edges. Juvenile flycatchers have speckled feathers. The flycatcher produces a song that consists of a "cher cher chirrup" sound. The bird is about twenty centimeters long.
Taxonomy
The chat flycatcher was previously placed in the genus Bradornis but was moved to Melaenornis based on the results of a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010. It was subsequently moved to the genus Agricola based on a study published in 2023.
- Scientific name
- Agricola infuscatus
- Authority
- (Smith, A, 1839)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Agricola
Range and habitat
The chat flycatcher is found in South Africa, Botswana and Angola. The flycatcher frequently perches on low-lying bushes and telephone wires. Its natural habitat is dry savanna. However, it is also found in shrublands and woodlands throughout its range.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
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