Brown Rock Chat vs Familiar Chat

Brown Rock Chat

Oenanthe fusca

Tiny13 gRocky

The brown rock chat is about 17 cm long, larger than the somewhat similar-looking Indian robin. It is uniformly rufous brown with the wings and tail of a slightly darker shade. The brown on the undersides grades into a dark grey-brown vent. The beak is slender and is slightly curved at the tip. The second primary is the longest and the tail is rounded. In flight it resembles a female blue rock thrush. The sexes are indistinguishable in the field. Voice: Brown rock chats have a wide repertoire of calls. Nearly eight different kinds of calls have been noted, including territorial calls, begging calls, feeding calls, alarm calls, threat calls, contact calls, distress calls, roosting calls and emergence calls. The most common call is a short whistled chee delivered with a rapid bob and stretch, and the alarm call is a harsh chek-check.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Vikramdeep Sidhu from Jhajjar, India · CC BY 2.0

Familiar Chat

Oenanthe familiaris

Small19 gShrubland

The familiar chat is a dumpy short-tailed bird 14–15 cm (5.5–5.9 in) long. The adult's upperparts are a dull brown with warmer brown ear coverts behind the eye. The underparts vary from off-white to pale grey-brown, and the rump and outer tail feathers are rufous with a dark brown tip. The central tail feathers are dark brown. The short straight bill and the legs and feet are black. The sexes are alike, but the juvenile is similar to the adult but has buff spots above and a scaly pattern on the breast. The familiar chat has a soft "shek-shek" alarm call. The song is a warbling trill.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: flamelily · CC0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Brown Rock Chat and Familiar Chat.