Bird Guide

Ant-eating Chat vs Sooty Chat

Ant-eating Chat (Myrmecocichla formicivora)

Ant-eating Chat

Myrmecocichla formicivora

Small42 gGrassland

The species is sexually dimorphic with the male almost entirely black and the female brown with a grey bill and legs.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Diego Rubolini · CC BY 4.0
Sooty Chat (Myrmecocichla nigra)

Sooty Chat

Myrmecocichla nigra

Small40 gGrassland

It is 15 to 16 cm (6 to 6.25 inches) long, stocky and relatively short-tailed for a chat. The adult male's plumage is glossy black except for white patches on the upper wings that are usually visible or only partly concealed (as in the photograph at upper right) when the bird is at rest. The female and young are very dark brown. Voice: The song (in Kenya and northern Tanzania) is described as "prolonged, sweet and musical, sometimes given in flight, wee tewee tuweer, skwik-skueeeeer, cueee-eeeee-cuweeeeer, eee-euwee-tee, tseuwee-tew-skweeer-tsi-seet…." This species sometimes imitates other birds.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: flowcomm · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Ant-eating Chat and Sooty Chat.