Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
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: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 5 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 9 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 10 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 11 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 12 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 13 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 14 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Mocking Cliff Chat sighting in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, based on 135 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 96th most-seen of the 283 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.
November
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Mocking Cliff Chat in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, against about 10% in January and June–July, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mocking Cliff Chat sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Mocking Cliff Chat sightings, uMkhuze Game Reserve ranks 2nd at about 30%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (South Africa, about 30%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the Mocking Cliff Chat that you can see in uMkhuze Game Reserve (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are White-browed Scrub Robin (about 40%), Southern Black Flycatcher (about 40%) and Bearded Scrub Robin (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mocking Cliff Chat is recorded against all the birds logged in uMkhuze Game Reserve (135 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.
