Bird Guide

Karoo Chat vs Sickle-winged Chat

Karoo Chat (Emarginata schlegelii)

Karoo Chat

Emarginata schlegelii

Small23 gShrubland

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.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Shaun Swanepoel · CC BY 4.0
Sickle-winged Chat (Emarginata sinuata)

Sickle-winged Chat

Emarginata sinuata

Small18 gShrubland

The sickle-winged chat is around 15 cm (5.9 in) in length and weighs 17–20 g (0.60–0.71 oz). Its upperparts are dark grey, but it has brown wings and a rufous patch behind the eye. The tail and rump are buff-pink, with an inverted wedge of black at the end of the tail. Its underparts are off-white, the short straight bill, legs and feet are black and the eye is brown. The sexes are similar, but the juvenile has buff tips to its feathers. The contrast between the dark upperparts and the much paler underparts distinguish this species from the more uniformly coloured familiar chat.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Alan Manson · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Karoo Chat and Sickle-winged Chat.