Mocking Cliff-Chat

Afrikaans name: Dassievoël

Photo © Steven Herbert

Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris

The male Mocking Cliff-Chat is an attactive bird with black, white and reddish-brown plumage. The female is reddish-brown and grey.

Mocking Cliff-Chats are found in the eastern half of South Africa. Beyond our borders they are found all the way up to Tanzania and Ethiopia.

They are normally found on rocky hillsides that have some vegetation to provide them cover. Once you know an area where they occur they are easy to find again as they do not move from area to area.

Most of their food consists of insects but they do eat some fruit and nectar.

The pair make a nest in abandoned swallow nests or a natural or man-made hole. Up to 4 eggs are laid. The female tends to the eggs but both sexes feed the chicks.

References and further reading

Wildlife of Southern Africa - Author: Martin Withers and David Hosking - Published: 2011 - Page: 160

The Sandton Field Guide - Author: Sandton Nature Conservation Society - Published: 1982 - Page: 57

Southern African Bird Names Explained - Author: Charles Clinning - Published: 1989 - Page: 142

The Birds of South Africa - 1st Edition - Author: Dr. Austin Roberts - Published: 1949 - Page: 237

Sasol Birds of Southern Africa - 1st Edition - Author: Ian Sinclair et al. - Published: 1993 - Page: 310

Sasol Birds of Southern Africa - 4th Edition - Author: Ian Sinclair et al. - Published: 2011 - Page: 320

Roberts Birds of Southern Africa - 5th Edition - Author: Gordon Lindsay Maclean - Published: 1985 - Page: 519

Roberts Birds of Southern Africa - 6th Edition - Author: Gordon Lindsay Maclean - Published: 1993 - Page: 515

Roberts Birds of South Africa - 3rd Edition - Author: McLachlan and Liversidge - Published: 1975 - Page: 391

Roberts Birds of South Africa - 4th Edition - Author: McLachlan and Liversidge - Published: 1981 - Page: 403

Newmans Birds of Southern Africa - 7th Edition - Author: Ken Newman - Published: 2000 - Page: 316

Newmans Birds of Southern Africa - 1st Edition - Author: Ken Newman - Published: 1984 - Page: 316

Field Guide to the Cradle of Humankind - Author: B. Hilton-Barber & Prof. L. R. Berger - Published: 2004 - Page: 185

Garden Birds in South Africa - Author: Duncan Butchart - Published: 2017 - Page: 107

Ian Sinclairs Field Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa - 2nd Edition - Author: Ian Sinclair - Published: 1988 - Page: 230

Field Guide to the Birds of Kruger National Park - Author: Ian Sinclair and Ian Whyte - Published: 1991 - Page: 156

Collins Illustrated Checklist - Birds of Southern Africa - 1st edition - Author: Ber van Perlo - Published: 1999 - Page: 57

Birds of the Transvaal - Author: Tarboton, Kemp and Kemp - Published: 1987 - Page: 191

Birds of the Transkei - Author: C.D. Quickelberge - Published: 1989 - Page: 92

Bird Atlas of Natal - Author: Digby Cyrus and Nigel Robson - Published: 1980 - Page: 207

Birds of Southern Africa - Kruger National Park - Author: Kenneth Newman - Published: 1985 - Page: 164

A First Guide to South African Birds - 6th Edition - Author: Leonard Gill - Published: 1959 - Page: 70

A First Guide to South African Birds - 7th Edition - Author: Leonard Gill - Published: 1975 - Page: 70

A Field Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa - 2nd Edition - Author: O.P.M. Prozesky - Published: 1983 - Page: 228

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List of South African Birds