Biology (continued) African Stonechat Whinchat Only 6 of the 10 chats treated here breed in Southern What to look for: chats Africa. All are monogamous and territorial. Breeding uppertail coverts white rump and peaks in spring and early summer (Aug-Dec) but is tail uniformly Also note: prominence of width and (sometimes with buff dark (no white) uppertail coverts small white more opportunistic in arid regions. The sizeable nest • Size, shape and posture pale eye-ring? colour of tips or faintly darker buffy brown with tail base is constructed by the in as little as 3 days. Nests may • Behaviour, e.g. wing flicking eyebrow? centres, but white dark spots • Range, habitat and season patch always (no white) contain a remarkable amount of material and weigh stands out) >1 kg: one Familiar Chat built its nest with 361 stones and 250 other items, including nails, wood, bamboo, wing colour? tin, plaster, mud, dung, bones, paint, glass and rubber. white patches? An initial foundation is built with stones, clods of soil, S. t. stonei S. rubetra bark, twigs and other coarse materials. This is topped rump/uppertail colour? coverts colour? Familiar Chat Sickle-winged Chat with a bulky base of grass, rootlets, hair, wool, string outer web of outer and cloth, into which is set a neat, warmly lined cup. orange-rufous width of black tail usually dull, pale feather often whitish; mottling? length? uppertail coverts band varies: almost pinkish orange can extend almost to Most chats breed on the ground, placing the nest (sometimes and tail base absent in some but straw-yellow tip (thus, when tail very faint) under a bush, grass tuft or rock that offers concealment C. f. angolensis or creamy buff in closed, suggests and shade. In natural situations Familiar Chats usually black central bar some birds white outer contrast of tail feathers breed in a crevice in a rock face or bank, or in an old length? underparts? swallow, starling, bee-eater or Sociable Weaver nest. black band broad black triangle Around human habitation this species often nests in tail pattern: colour of creative locations: in mine shafts, machinery, walls, shape/amount underwing C. f. hellmayri C. s. sinuata buildings, roofs, tins, nest boxes, letter boxes and in of black? coverts? one case, a regularly raised customs road-boom. Tractrac Chat Karoo Capped Wheatears breed underground, e.g. in a Chat even width white compare also additional species in the appendix, pp. 344-346 panel on outer 1 m long gerbil burrow, or sometimes in a termite broad white patch feather edges and grey web; extends white mound or under rubble. As in other species that tips sometimes pale to tip in fresh plumage breed in dark tunnels, its eggs are whitish. The eggs of base of central Identifying chats & wheatears tail feathers white other chats are typically pale turquoise or bluish, with Young and non-br. wheatears and the 4 Cercomela (black does not fine speckling. 2-4 (usually 3) eggs are laid at 1-day reach rump) compare chats can be very difficult to identify with confidence Gray's Lark intervals and incubated by the for 13-15 days. Chicks in the field, particularly as theirdiagnostic tail patterns (p. 91) are fed by both sexes, and fledge after 13-18 days. black triangle and underwing coverts are often concealed. To some C. t. barlowi C. s. pollux C. s. schlegelii extent, all species vary regionally and with season, age and sex. In addition to plumage, consider size and Capped Isabelline white/black about equal shape plus habitat, range and season. Behavioural Wheatear black like variation Wheatear quirks such as wing flicking can also be informative. inverted 'V' little short white The vagrant Northern, Pied and Isabelline Wheatears black and Whinchat are very rare and only likely in summer.

Observing chats & wheatears For the most part, finding chats and wheatears is a matter of scanning bushes, posts, fences, termite mounds and other low, open perches. Some species O. p. pileata O. p. pileata O. isabellina variation become exceptionally tame, while others endeavour Northern more white Pied to stay a safe distance from birders. In either case, black narrower near Wheatear than black Wheatear white patient, extended observation may be necessary to centre than at sides; black 'T' extends discern all the diagnostic features and get a feel for much like a sideways far up white capital 'E' the bird's behaviour (video may prove useful). Seeing long the tail pattern and underwing coverts is important black but often tricky; a series of in-flight photographs is a good bet; obtaining photographic evidence should be a priority to confirm claims of the vagrant wheatears.

Identification O. o. oenanthe variation O. pleschanka variation The single most important field mark to look for is the tail pattern (see opposite page); in particular, verify Chat tail patterns (tails shown from above). Chats and wheatears have distinctive patterns on their tails and the shape and extent of the black triangle or terminal rumps/uppertail coverts which, given a sufficient view, are diagnostic. However, the tail pattern is only fully band (often said to be in the shape of a letter: 'V', 'T' or visible when the tail is spread; if folded, only the central black feathers (T1) are visible when the bird is seen from Around human habitation Familiar Chats often 'E'). The size of the white rump patch (if present) should behind, and only the outermost feathers (T6) are visible if it is seen from the front. Pay particular attention to the choose unusual locations for their bulky nests; here also be checked. Stonechats and Whinchats have small extent of white on the uppertail coverts and rump, the length of the central black bar, the extent of white on the among tools on a shelf inside a workshop. white wing flashes that are exposed in flight. tail base and sides, and the width and shape of the black feather tips.

128 CHATS & WHEATEARS CHATS & WHEATEARS 129