Brown-tailed rock chat explained

The brown-tailed rock chat (Oenanthe scotocerca) is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae.It is found in Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda.Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.

The brown-tailed rock chat was formerly included in the genus Cercomela. Molecular phylogenetic studies published in 2010 and 2012 found that the genus Cercomela was polyphyletic with five species, including the brown-tailed rock chat, phylogenetically nested within the genus Oenanthe.^{[1] [2]} As part of a reorganization of the species to create monotypic genera, the brown-tailed rock chat was moved to the genus Oenanthe.^[3]

It is insectivorous.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Outlaw . R.K. . Voelker . G. . Bowie . R.C.K. . 2010 . Shall we chat? Evolutionary relationships in the genus Cercomela (Muscicapidae) and its relation to Oenanthe reveals extensive polyphyly among chats distributed in Africa, India and the Palearctic . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 55 . 1 . 284–292 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2009.09.023 . 19772925. 2010MolPE..55..284O .
2. Aliabadian . M. . Kaboli . M. . Förschler . M.I. . Nijman . V. . Chamani . A. . Tillier . A. . Prodon . R. . Pasquet . E. . Ericson . P.G.P. . Zuccon . D. . 2012 . Convergent evolution of morphological and ecological traits in the open-habitat chat complex (Aves, Muscicapidae: Saxicolinae) . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 65 . 1 . 35–45 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2012.05.011 . 22634240. 2012MolPE..65...35A .
3. Web site: Gill . Frank . Donsker . David . 2016 . Chats, Old World flycatchers . World Bird List Version 6.2 . International Ornithologists' Union. 20 May 2016 .
4. Shilpa . Kler . Tejdeep Kaur . Kaur . Gagandeep . 2023-06-16 . Avian Feeding Guilds in Winter and Rainy Crop Seasons of Guava . Indian Journal of Entomology . 01–06 . 10.55446/ije.2023.785 . 0974-8172.