Mocking Cliff Chat
Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyMuscicapidae (Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats)
- GenusThamnolaea (Cliff-Chats)
- SpeciesThamnolaea cinnamomeiventris (Mocking Cliff Chat)
About the Mocking Cliff Chat
The mocking cliff chat, mocking chat or cliff chat, (Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris) is a species of chat in the family Muscicapidae which occurs in rocky habitats in much of eastern Sub-Saharan Africa. It is the only species placed in the genus Thamnolaea.
The mocking cliff chat was formally described and illustrated in 1836 by the French ornithologist Frédéric de Lafresnaye based on a specimen that had been sent to France from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Lafresnaye placed the species with the thrushes in the genus Turdus and coined the binomial name Turdus cinnamomeiventris. The specific epithet combines Modern Latin cinnamomeus meaning "cinnamon-coloured" with Latin venter, ventris meaning "belly". The type locality has been designated as Cape Province. The mocking cliff chat is now the only species placed in the genus Thamnolaea that was introduced in 1851 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek θαμνος/thamnos meaning "bush" with λαιος/laios meaning "thrush".
Nine subspecies are recognised: T. c. cavernicola Bates, GL, 1933 – central Mali T. c. bambarae Bates, GL, 1928 – south Mauritania, east Senegal and southwest... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Golden Gate Highlands National Park
African Stonechat
Saxicola torquatus
Familiar Chat
Oenanthe familiaris
Cape Rockthrush
Monticola rupestris
Mountain Chat
Oenanthe monticola
Buff-streaked Bushchat
Campicoloides bifasciatus
Southern Anteater-Chat
Myrmecocichla formicivora
Sentinel Rock-Thrush
Monticola explorator
Fiscal Flycatcher
Sigelus silens
Capped Wheatear
Oenanthe pileata
Short-toed Rock-Thrush
Monticola brevipes
Sickle-winged Chat
Emarginata sinuata
White-browed Scrub Robin
Erythropygia leucophrys
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there