Familiar chat
Oenanthe familiaris (Wilkes, 1817)
The familiar chat (Oenanthe familiaris) is a species in the family Muscicapidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 16 g to 20.8 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the familiar chat
- Weight
- 16 g – 20.8 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the familiar chat live?
Not recorded
What is the familiar chat?
The familiar chat (Oenanthe familiaris) is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is a common resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara in rocky and mountainous habitat and around human habitation.
From the Wikipedia article “Familiar chat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Familiar_chat&oldid=1354833335), 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 familiar chat endangered?
The familiar chat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- 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 familiar chat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyMuscicapidae
- genusOenanthe
- SpeciesOenanthe familiaris (Wilkes, 1817)
Synonyms Cercomela familiaris, Cercomela familiaris, Cercomela familiaris familiaris, Motacilla familiaris, Saxicola fimbriata
Other names and names in other languages (37)
- FACHEnglish
- JapjappieAfrikaans
- Gewone SpekvreterAfrikaans
- SpekvreterAfrikaans
- Африканска черноопашкаBulgarian
- còlit familiarCatalan
- skalníček šedohnědýCzech
- crec craig cynffongochWelsh
- Rødhalet StensmutteDanish
- RostschwanzGerman
- Rostschwanz-SteinschmätzerGerman
- doma enantoEsperanto
- Familia cerkomeloEsperanto
- Colinegro familiarSpanish
- punasaba-kaljutäksEstonian
- kalliotaskuFinnish
- Traquet familierFrench
- Traquet de roche à queue rousseFrench
- Caislín earr-ruaIrish
- riđorepa bjeloguzaCroatian
- Codinero familiareItalian
- Monachella familiareItalian
- アカオイワビタキJapanese
- rusvauodegis uolinis šnekutisLithuanian
- RoodstaartspekvreterDutch
- ruststjertNorwegian
- białorzytka rdzawosternaPolish
- chasco-familiarPortuguese
- Рыжегузая чернохвосткаRussian
- Рыжехвостый скромный чеканRussian
- skaliarik červenochvostýSlovak
- Smeđa crnorepkaSerbian
- roststjärtad stenskvättaSwedish
- PaskuyrukTurkish
- трактрак рудохвостийUkrainian
- 红尾岩䳭Chinese
- 紅尾岩鵖Chinese
Relatives of the familiar chat
Other species in the same genus Oenanthe.

Northern wheatear
Oenanthe oenanthe

Isabelline wheatear
Oenanthe isabellina

Desert wheatear
Oenanthe deserti

Western black-eared wheatear
Oenanthe hispanica

Pied wheatear
Oenanthe pleschanka

Black wheatear
Oenanthe leucura
CompareFamiliar chat vs Northern wheatearFamiliar chat vs Isabelline wheatearFamiliar chat vs Desert wheatearFamiliar chat vs Western black-eared wheatear
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the familiar chat?
An adult familiar chat weighs 16 g – 20.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the familiar chat endangered?
The familiar 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 familiar chat?
The familiar chat (Oenanthe familiaris) 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.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Familiar chat (Oenanthe familiaris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/familiar-chat
“Familiar chat (Oenanthe familiaris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/familiar-chat.
@misc{familiar_chat_2026,
title = {Familiar chat (Oenanthe familiaris)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/familiar-chat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}