Myrmecocichla arnoti (Arnot's chat)
[= Thamnolaea arnoti]
Bontpiek [Afrikaans]; Mandlakeni [Tsonga]; Traquet
d'Arnott [French]; Arnotschmätzer [German]; Chasco de Arnot [Portuguese]
Life
> Eukaryotes >
Opisthokonta
> Metazoa (animals) >
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Deuterostomia >
Chordata >
Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates) > Gnathostomata (jawed
vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class:
Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned
fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial
vertebrates) >
Tetrapoda
(four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota >
Reptilia (reptiles) >
Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria >
Dinosauria
(dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) >
Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves
(birds) > Order: Passeriformes
> Family: Muscicapidae > Genus:
Myrmecocichla
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Arnot's chat, Kruger National Park, South Africa. [photo
Trevor Hardaker ©] |
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Distribution and habitat
Occurs from Tanzania and the DRC through
Angola, Zambia and Malawi to southern Africa. Here it is locally
common in northern Namibia and Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique
and Limpopo Province, preferring well developed miombo (Brachystegia),
Mopane (Colosphermum mopane) and Zambezi teak (Baikiaea
plurijuga) woodland.
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Distribution of Arnot's chat in
southern Africa, based on statistical smoothing of the
records from first SA Bird Atlas Project (©
Animal Demography unit,
University of Cape Town; smoothing by Birgit Erni and
Francesca Little). Colours range from dark blue (most
common) through to yellow (least common).
See here for the latest
distribution from the SABAP2. |
Food
It mainly eats insects, doing most of its
foraging from a low perch, pouncing on prey on the ground or
gleaning them from the gnarled roots of trees. The following food items have been recorded
in its diet:
Breeding
- It is probably a facultative cooperative breeder, as
three immature individuals were once observed helping the
breeding pair.
- The nest is a shallow cup set into a foundation of
coarse plant material and lined with grass, leaf petioles
and feathers. It is typically placed in a natural cavity in
a tree, about 2-4 metres above ground.
- Egg-laying season is from August-December, peaking from
October-November.
- It lays 2-4 eggs, which are incubated solely by the
female for about 13-14 days.
- The chicks are fed by both adults and up to 3 immature
helpers, leaving the nest after about 21-22 days, after
which they remain dependent on their parents for up to 4
months more.
Threats
Near-threatened globally, mainly due
to habitat destruction such as the fragmentation of Miombo (Brachystegia)
woodland in Zimbabwe.
References
-
Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG 2005. Roberts
- Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker
Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.
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