Sooty Chat (Myrmecocichla nigra)
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Sooty Chat

Myrmecocichla nigra (Vieillot, 1818)

40 gWeight

The sooty chat (Myrmecocichla nigra) is an African songbird of the chat subfamily.

Busiest months: July · Most records: Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda

Least Concern

Where and when it's recorded

Sooty Chat has been recorded at 94 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 10 countries and regions.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Lake Mburo NPUganda717 records
  2. Maasai Mara NR – Mara TriangleKenya690 records
  3. Maasai Mara NRKenya500 records
More places
  1. Queen Elizabeth II NP – Ishasha SectorUganda295 records
  2. Murchison Falls NP – North sideUganda237 records
  3. Queen Elizabeth II NPUganda220 records
  4. Mabamba SwampUganda215 records
  5. Maasai Mara NR – Eastern SectionKenya210 records
  6. Maasai Mara NR – Central sectionKenya208 records
  7. Lake Mburo NP – Entrance RoadUganda153 records

Countries and regions with the most records

UgandaKenyaRwandaZambiaTanzaniaCongo - BrazzavilleCongo - KinshasaAngola

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The sooty chat (Myrmecocichla nigra) is an African songbird of the chat subfamily.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Sooty Chat?

The Sooty Chat weighs around 40 g.

Where does the Sooty Chat live?

Its breeding range: Africa: Nigeria, Central African Republic and South Sudan to Angola, Zambia and Tanzania. It is most often recorded in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda.

When is the best time to see the Sooty Chat?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in July (Southern Hemisphere).

Is the Sooty Chat endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Sooty Chat as Least Concern.

What does the Sooty Chat eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Sooty Chat in?

It belongs to the family Chats, Old World Flycatchers (Muscicapidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Weight
40 g
Habitat
Grassland
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Active on the ground
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
98 mm
Tail
58 mm
Bill
19 mm
Tarsus
30 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Africa: Nigeria, Central African Republic and South Sudan to Angola, Zambia and Tanzania

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Chats, Old World Flycatchers Muscicapidae
Genus
Myrmecocichla

Other birds in the genus Myrmecocichla

Anteater ChatAnteater ChatMyrmecocichla aethiopsCongo Moor ChatCongo Moor ChatMyrmecocichla tholloniAnt-eating ChatAnt-eating ChatMyrmecocichla formicivoraMountain ChatMountain ChatMyrmecocichla monticolaRüppell's Black ChatRüppell's Black ChatMyrmecocichla melaenaRuaha ChatRuaha ChatMyrmecocichla collarisArnot's ChatArnot's ChatMyrmecocichla arnottiWhite-tailed AletheWhite-tailed AletheAlethe diademataFire-crested AletheFire-crested AletheAlethe castaneaKaroo Scrub RobinKaroo Scrub RobinTychaedon coryphoeus
Sooty Chat

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Lip Kee. ↗

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