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.

Roberts Birds Names by Edition

Edition	Roberts nr	Scientific name
1st	573	Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris cinnamomeiventris
2nd	573	Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris
3rd	573	Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris
4th	573	Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris
5th	593	Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris
6th	593	Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris
7th	794	Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris

Edition	Roberts nr	English name
1st	573	Mocking Chat
2nd	573	Mocking Chat
3rd	573	Mocking Chat
4th	573	Mocking Chat
5th	593	Mocking Chat
6th	593	Mocking Chat
7th	794	Mocking Cliff Chat

Edition	Roberts nr	Afrikaans name
1st	573	Dassie-voël
2nd	573	Dassievoël
3rd	573	Dassievoël
4th	573	Dassievoël
5th	593	Dassievoël
6th	593	Dassievoël
7th	794	Dassievoël

References and further reading

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

Wild About Johannesburg - Author: Duncan Butchart - Published: 1995 - Page: 53

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

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

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

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

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

Roberts Bird Guide - Author: Hugh Chittenden - Published: 2007 - Page: 302

Roberts Birds of South Africa - 2nd edition - Author: McLachlan and Liversidge - Published: 1957 - Page: 304

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BirdLife South Africa

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List of South African Birds