CreatureData

Brown-tailed rock chat

Oenanthe scotocerca (Heuglin, 1869)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The brown-tailed rock chat (Oenanthe scotocerca) is a species in the family Muscicapidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 16 g to 18 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

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Quick facts about the brown-tailed rock chat

Weight
16 g – 18 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
rockysrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Lifestyle
Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the brown-tailed rock chat live?

Not recorded

What is the brown-tailed rock chat?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The brown-tailed rock chat (Oenanthe scotocerca) is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae.

It is found in Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda.

Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.

The brown-tailed rock chat was formerly included in the genus Cercomela. Molecular phylogenetic studies published in 2010 and 2012 found that the genus Cercomela was polyphyletic with five species, including the brown-tailed rock chat, phylogenetically nested within the genus Oenanthe. As part of a reorganization of the species to create monotypic genera, the brown-tailed rock chat was moved to the genus Oenanthe.

It is insectivorous.

From the Wikipedia article “Brown-tailed rock chat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brown-tailed_rock_chat&oldid=1336384854), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the brown-tailed rock chat endangered?

The brown-tailed rock chat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the brown-tailed rock chat classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyMuscicapidae
  6. genusOenanthe
  7. SpeciesOenanthe scotocerca (Heuglin, 1869)

Synonyms Cercomela scotocerca, Cercomela scotocerca scotocerca, Saxicola scotocerca

Other names and names in other languages (34)
  • Brown-tailed chatEnglish
  • BTCHEnglish
  • Скална черноопашкаBulgarian
  • còlit de cua brunaCatalan
  • skalníček hnědoocasýCzech
  • crec craig cynffonfrownWelsh
  • Brunhalet StensmutteDanish
  • BraunschwanzGerman
  • Braunschwanz-SteinschmätzerGerman
  • brunvosta enantoEsperanto
  • Colinegro pardoSpanish
  • vadi-kaljutäksEstonian
  • sudaninkalliotaskuFinnish
  • Traquet à queue bruneFrench
  • Traquet de roche à queue bruneFrench
  • Caislín earrdhonnIrish
  • mala bjeloguzaCroatian
  • Codinero codabrunaItalian
  • ヒメイワビタキJapanese
  • rudauodegis uolinis šnekutisLithuanian
  • BruinstaartDutch
  • brunstjertNorwegian
  • białorzytka jednobarwnaPolish
  • chasco-de-rabo-pardoPortuguese
  • chasco-de-cauda-castanhaPortuguese
  • Буланая чернохвосткаRussian
  • Бурохвостый скромный чеканRussian
  • skaliarik hnedochvostýSlovak
  • Smeđorepa crnorepkaSerbian
  • brunstjärtad stenskvättaSwedish
  • Solgun KuyrukkakanTurkish
  • трактрак бурохвостийUkrainian
  • 褐尾岩䳭Chinese
  • 褐尾岩鵖Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the brown-tailed rock chat

Other species in the same genus Oenanthe.

CompareBrown-tailed rock chat vs Northern wheatearBrown-tailed rock chat vs Isabelline wheatearBrown-tailed rock chat vs Desert wheatearBrown-tailed rock chat vs Western black-eared wheatear

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the brown-tailed rock chat?

An adult brown-tailed rock chat weighs 16 g – 18 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the brown-tailed rock chat endangered?

The brown-tailed rock chat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the brown-tailed rock chat?

The brown-tailed rock chat (Oenanthe scotocerca) belongs to the family Muscicapidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Brown-tailed rock chat (Oenanthe scotocerca). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-tailed-rock-chat

MLA

“Brown-tailed rock chat (Oenanthe scotocerca).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-tailed-rock-chat.

BibTeX
@misc{brown_tailed_rock_chat_2026,
  title = {Brown-tailed rock chat (Oenanthe scotocerca)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-tailed-rock-chat},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}