Karoo Chat
Emarginata schlegelii
The Karoo Chat (Emarginata schlegelii) is a rare chats, old world flycatchers, and alli found in 3 countries, weighing about 23 g. The Karoo chat is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae.
About the Karoo Chat
The Karoo chat is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is a common resident breeder in southwesternmost Angola, western Namibia and western South Africa. Its habitat is Karoo and desert scrub in the south, extending to the escarpment zone in the north.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
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.
Where it lives
When to see it
The Karoo Chat can be seen all year round, with peak activity in September. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Karoo Chat?
- The Karoo chat is 16–18 cm long and weighs around 32 gm. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Karoo Chat?
- The Karoo Chat is a small sized bird weighing about 23 g.
- Where can you see a Karoo Chat?
- The Karoo Chat occurs in 3 countries, including South Africa, Namibia and Angola.
- What birds look similar to a Karoo Chat?
- The Karoo Chat is most easily confused with the Sickle-winged Chat and the Tractrac Chat.
- Is the Karoo Chat endangered?
- The Karoo Chat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Karoo Chat for real
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