Oenanthe monticola
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
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 |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Mountain Chat sighting in Golden Gate Highlands National Park on a given day, based on 55 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 49th most-seen of the 108 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Mountain Chat in Golden Gate Highlands National Park on a given day, against about 10% in April and December–February, the lowest months. That is one of Golden Gate Highlands National Park's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain against 130 mm in January. March has too few records to rate.
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.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Mountain Chat sightings, Golden Gate Highlands National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Namib-Naukluft National Park (Namibia, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mountain Chat is recorded against all the birds logged in Golden Gate Highlands National Park (55 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
