Arnot's Chat ( Myrmecocichla arnoti, family: Muscicapidae)

arnots chat kruger national park birds The Arnot's Chat (Latin name Myrmecocichla arnoti) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 594 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 957 also a picture of the Arnot's Chat on page 961. The Arnot's Chat belongs to the family of birds classified as Muscicapidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Arnot's Chat is also known by these other names: White-headed Black Chat.

The Robert's 7 Latin name for Arnot's Chat has changed from Thamnolaea arnoti in Robert's 6 to Myrmecocichla arnoti

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Arnot's Chat is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.

In terms of distribution of the Arnot's Chat in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Arnot's Chat : see above distribution map.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Arnot's Chat is a small bird about the size of a house sparrow. Do not take this relative indicator as anything other than a rough easy to remember indicator. It is not a accurate visualization. The height of the Arnot's Chat is about 18 cms and its weight is about 33 gms

You will find that the male Arnot's Chat plumage and colours are different to that of the female Arnot's Chat

Head is black, white.
Eye is brown.
Bill is black.
Throat is black.
Back is black.
Legs are black.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Arnot's Chat feeds on the ground and in foliage

Invertebrates

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Arnot's Chat is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Myrmecocichla arnoti will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Arnot's Chat is to create the nest in a hole in a tree trunk or on branches as a support. The bird lays eggs which are green in colour and number between 2 to 4

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Arnot's Chat are: woodlands

You will normally see the Arnot's Chat in pairs or flocks and not as single birds.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Bontpiek

German ... Arnotschmtzer

Portuguese ... Chasco de Arnot

French ... Traquet d'Arnott

Dutch ... 0

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 594

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za