Wakkerstroom, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa July 23, 2007. The upright stance and short tail help identify this extraordinarily drab looking bird. However, in flight it shows a conspicuous white flash at the base of the primaries. As its name implies, these birds feed primarily on ants although spiders make up a considerable portion of their diet. HBW, Clements and the African Bird Club call this bird the Southern Anteater-Chat while Roberts 7th and the IOC call it Ant-eating Chat. SASOL spells it Anteating Chat and Howard & Moore spell it Southern Anteating Chat, without hyphens. HBW, Clements and Howard & Moore do not recognize any subspecies, but Roberts 7th, recognize three, all in South Africa with the type of M. f. orestes attributed to Wakkerstroom and said to be paler and grayer, especially on the head and neck as seen here. However, in a further note, Roberts admits that these races are probably invalid because variation is clinal. Canon PowerShot S3IS.