The anteater chat or northern anteater-chat (''Myrmecocichla aethiops'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family

Muscicapidae The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica'') and north ...

. Its range extends across the

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

and the East African montane forests. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s are dry

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

, subtropical or tropical dry lowland

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

, and subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland. The not so well known South African anteater chat is known to live in groups which causes cooperative breeding . An expert on the Anteater Chat Jon Barnaby says "It reveals a breeding system based around a breeding pair and up to three auxiliary males. Despite equal numbers of males and females produced as fledglings there was a surplus of adult males, which remained philopatric.". Though there are equal numbers of both male and female, the females can have up to three males in a breeding group. The female can have up to three partners due to the male having a higher life expectancy although, when it comes to breeding it is up to the males to choose the breeding location. In Barnaby's abstract he states "There was no indication of birds floating in the population, and if males were orphaned or widowed they joined other groups as unrelated helpers in preference to floating". Floaters are unpaired birds with more variable range and itinerant behavior. In the animal kingdom there are several instances when an abandoned or lone animal tries to join another group there is signs of aggression and are very hesitant when settling in with a new group , but that is not the case with the Anteater Chat they show little to none signs of aggression and welcome new members with open wings. Since there are no floaters in the groups the unpaired birds are known as helpers in a sense and help with the offspring. Barnaby states in his abstract "In fact all birds in a group helped raise offspring of the breeding pair, and groups with more helpers fledged more offspring, which implies that both direct and indirect fitness benefits can be gained through joining a group and helping". In conclusion, the Anteater Chat is a very interesting species with unique breeding patterns and mannerisms. It has been observed to nest in abandoned wells in Nigeria

References

External links

Image at ADW
anteater chat Birds of the Sahel Birds of East Africa anteater chat Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Muscicapidae-stub