Arnot's chat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Arnot's chat |
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| Male at Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Myrmecocichla
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| Species: |
arnotti
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| Distribution of the Arnot's Chat | |
| Synonyms | |
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The Arnot's chat (Myrmecocichla arnotti) is a cool bird that lives in southern Africa. It's also known as the white-headed black-chat because of its unique look. This bird belongs to the chat and flycatcher family, called Muscicapidae. You can find it in countries from Rwanda and Angola all the way down to South Africa.
About Its Name
This bird was first described in 1869 by a person named Henry Baker Tristram. He found a specimen near Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Tristram named the bird after the person who collected it, a Mr. Arnott. It turns out the collector's real name was David Arnot, but the spelling arnotti stuck!
Sometimes, the Arnot's chat is grouped with the white-fronted black-chat in a different bird group called Pentholaea. There are also two main types, or subspecies, of Arnot's chat. One is called hartertii and lives in Angola. The other, called the nominate race, lives in the rest of its range.
Where It Lives
Arnot's chats love to live in healthy forests. They are most often found in woodlands with lots of miombo and mopane trees. These birds also live in other open woodlands where there isn't too much grass on the ground. You might rarely see them near buildings.
They can be found from sea level up to about 1,500 meters (about 4,900 feet) high. Arnot's chats usually stay in one area and don't travel far. However, they might move around a little bit locally.
What It Looks Like
The Arnot's chat is about 16 to 18 centimeters (about 6 to 7 inches) long. It weighs around 35 grams (about 1.2 ounces), which is like a few pieces of candy!
Male and female Arnot's chats look different, which is called sexual dimorphism.
- The male of the main type (nominate race) is mostly black. It has a bright white cap on its head and a white patch on its wings.
- The female looks similar to the male. But she has a black cap on her head. She also has a white throat and neck, which are tipped with black.
Both males and females have black beaks and black legs.
Young Arnot's chats look a lot like the adults. However, their white head or throat feathers might just have white tips instead of being fully white. The males of the harterti type have less white on their wings. They also have mostly black heads with just a small white area on their forehead and above their eyes. The females of this type also have less white on their throats.
