Oenanthe monticola
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The mountain chat or mountain wheatear (Myrmecocichla monticola) is a small insectivorous passerine bird that is endemic to southwestern Africa. This non-migratory chat is resident in mountainous and rocky habitats in Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and southernmost Angola.
The mountain chat is 18–20 cm long, and like other chats, it has a distinctive tail pattern, with a white rump and outer tail feathers. Its legs and pointed bill are black. The male is very variable in plumage, although the tail pattern and a white shoulder patch are always present. A white and black bird. The body plumage varies from pale grey to almost black, and it may or may not have a white crown to the head. The female is entirely dark brown apart from the white rump and outer tail.
The mountain chat's song is a clear melodic whistle interspersed with harsh chatters. It is monogamous and nests on the ground amongst rocks, laying 2-4 white eggs. It eats insects and berries. Along with other chats, this species was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but based on studies published in 2004 and 2010, the Old World flycatcher... Wikipedia →
Recording0:18
South Africa · 2024
© Namhla · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 2 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Mountain Chat sighting in Johannesburg on a given day, based on 57 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 130th most-seen of the 219 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Mountain Chat in Johannesburg on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mountain Chat sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Johannesburg, in our data
Johannesburg is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Mountain Chat sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mountain Chat is recorded against all the birds logged in Johannesburg (57 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
