Ant eating chat
Introduction: Ant-eating chats (Myrmecocichla formicivora) prefer habitats that include dwarf shrub savannah, open grasslands and some regions of mountain or mopane savannah. They can be observed singly or in pairs, (or small groups of up to 6) at times roosting in nest holes.
Distribution: Absent from the Namib Desert including the Skeleton Coast, but fairly common in Kalahari sands.
Diet: Apart from ants, this species takes millipedes, bugs, beetles, caterpillars and grasshoppers. Also eats fruit, mainly from February to April.
Description: Medium-sized chat with a thin bill and thrush-like feet. Over plumage with white patches. Myrmecocichla is a Greek word for 'ant thrush', formicivora a Latin word for 'ant-eating'.
Breeding: From 2 to 7 eggs are laid in a bowl of dry grass and roots, from August to March.
Size: 18cm.
Weight: Up to 50g.
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