White-crowned cliff chat

The white-crowned cliff chat (Thamnolaea coronata) is a species of chat in the family Muscicapidae which occurs in rocky habitats in much of western Sub-Saharan Africa.

Taxonomy
The white-crowned cliff chat was formally described in 1902 by the German ornithologist Anton Reichenow from a specimen collected in Togo in West Africa. He placed it in the genus Thamnolaea and coined the binomial name Thamnolaea coronata. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek thamnos meaning "bush" with laios meaning "thrush". The specific epithet coronata is Latin meaning "crowned".

Two subspecies are recognised:
 * T. c. coronata Reichenow, 1902 – north Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso to west Sudan
 * T. c. kordofanensis Wettstein, 1916 – central Sudan

It is often considered a subspecies of the mocking cliff chat, especially since many male birds, including individuals of the nominate subspecies, T. c. coronata, do not have the distinctive white crown.

Description
There are two subspecies of which only the nominate subspecies has the white crown, which is also individually variable in extent and sometimes limited to a few white feathers. The males are black above with white shoulder epaulets. The epaulets are largest in the subspecies T. c. cavernicola, smaller in T. c. bambarae, and variable but sometimes absent in the nominate. Males of all subspecies have rufous plumage on the belly and vent. A pale bar separates the breast from the rest of the underparts on T. c. cavernicola, but is lacking on T. c. bambarae, and wider on the nominate subspecies, T. c. coronata. Additionally, T. c. cavernicola has a rufous rump. The females are similar to males but duller, lacking any white shoulder epaulets or a white band over the chest. The female of the nominate subspecies, T. c. coronata, has a paler head while the whole of her underpart plumage is rufous. Length is 20 cm.

It has a melodious rich and far-carrying song with many mimicked phrases; often pairs duet.

Distribution and habitat
The white-crowned cliff chat is found in inselbergs, cliffs, and escarpments in savanna.

Usually seen in pairs. Often slowly raises and lowers its tail, fanning it as it raises it vertically over the bird's back.