Thrushes (Turdidae)

Familiar Chat (Cercomela familiaris) - HBW 10, p. 789

French: Traquet familier German: Rostschwanz Spanish: Colinegro Familiar
Other common names: Red-tailed Chat

Taxonomy: Motacilla familiaris Wilkes, 1817, Table Mountain, south-western Cape Province, South Africa.
May form a superspecies with C. scotocerca. Proposed race modesta (described from N Malawi) synonymized with falkensteini. Seven subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

falkensteini (Cabanis, 1875) - SE Senegal E to NW Ethiopia, and S Uganda and Tanzania S to Zambezi Valley.
omoensis (Neumann, 1904) - SE Sudan, SW Ethiopia, NE Uganda and NW Kenya.
angolensis Lynes, 1926 - SW DR Congo, W Angola and N Namibia.

See all 7 subspecies

falkensteini (Cabanis, 1875) - SE Senegal E to NW Ethiopia, and S Uganda and Tanzania S to Zambezi Valley.
omoensis (Neumann, 1904) - SE Sudan, SW Ethiopia, NE Uganda and NW Kenya.
angolensis Lynes, 1926 - SW DR Congo, W Angola and N Namibia.
galtoni (Strickland, 1853) - E Namibia, W Botswana and N South Africa (N & W Northern Cape).
hellmayri (Reichenow, 1902) - SE Botswana E to S Mozambique, and E South Africa (Northern Province and N Eastern Cape).
actuosa Clancey, 1966 - E South Africa (W KwaZulu-Natal S to Drakensberg Mts) and Lesotho.
familiaris (Wilkes, 1817) - S South Africa (Western Cape and Eastern Cape E to R Great Kei).