Chat flycatcher
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Chat flycatcher
| image = Bradornis infuscatus.jpg
| image_caption=In Etosha National Park
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Agricola
| species = infuscatus
| authority = (Smith, A, 1839)
| synonyms = Bradornis infuscatus
Melaenornis infuscatus
Saxicola infuscata
}}
The chat flycatcher (Agricola infuscatus) is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae that is native to southern Africa.
Taxonomy
The chat flycatcher was previously placed in the genus Bradornis but was moved to Melaenornis based on the results of a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010.{{ cite journal | last1=Sangster | first1=G. | last2=Alström| first2=P. | last3=Forsmark | first3=E. | last4=Olsson | first4=U. | year=2010 | title=Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis of Old World chats and flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly at family, subfamily and genus level (Aves: Muscicapidae) | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=57 | issue=1 | pages=380–392 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2010.07.008 | pmid=20656044}} It was subsequently moved to the genus Agricola based on a study published in 2023.{{Cite journal | last1=Zhao | first1=M. | last2=Gordon Burleigh | first2=J. | last3=Olsson | first3=U. | last4=Alström | first4=P. | last5=Kimball | first5=R.T. | date=2023 | title=A near-complete and time-calibrated phylogeny of the Old World flycatchers, robins and chats (Aves, Muscicapidae) | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=178 | pages=107646 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107646 | doi-access=free | pmid=36265831 }}{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=July 2023 | title=Chats, Old World flycatchers | work=IOC World Bird List Version 13.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/chats/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=20 July 2023}}
Description
The chat flycatcher is an earthy light reddish-brown in colour and has large, pale wing edges. Juvenile flycatchers have speckled feathers. The flycatcher produces a song that consists of a "cher cher chirrup" sound.{{cite book|last1=Newman|first1=Kenneth|title=Newman's Birds of Southern Africa|date=2002|publisher=Struik|page=384|isbn=9781868727353|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yYqLZtf5w0gC&pg=PA384}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The bird is about twenty centimeters long.
Habitat
Behavior
=Diet=
The chat flycatcher hunts insects. Specifically, it consumes termites, ants and beetles. The flycatcher also consumes small reptiles such as Typhlops, a genus of blind snakes.{{cite web|title=Bradornis infuscatus (Chat flycatcher)|url=http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/birds/muscicapidae/bradornis_infuscatus.htm|website=Biodiversity Explorer|publisher=Iziko Museums of Cape Town|access-date=4 January 2015|archive-date=4 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104095755/http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/birds/muscicapidae/bradornis_infuscatus.htm|url-status=dead}}
=Reproduction=
The chat flycatcher lays eggs year round. However, egg laying is believed to peak from September to March, a period of increased rainfall in the habitat of the flycatcher. The flycatcher lays an average of two to three eggs. The chat flycatcher nests above ground in shrubs and thickets.{{cite book|last1=Dean|first1=Richard|title=Nomadic Desert Birds|date=2004|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|page=138|isbn=9783540403937|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G2mVCD7yjx4C&pg=PA138}} The mother incubates the eggs for approximately two weeks, while the father is responsible for ensuring that the female is fed. After the eggs hatch, the hatchlings are raised and fed by their parents. They tend to leave the nest anywhere from eleven to fourteen days after hatching.
Conservation status
The chat flycatcher is categorized as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The reasoning for this ranking includes the flycatcher's large range and relatively stable population trends.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q28819603|from2=Q27075637|from3=Q1306331}}