Bird Guide

African Stonechat vs Pied Bush Chat

African Stonechat (Saxicola torquatus)

African Stonechat

Saxicola torquatus

Tiny14 gShrubland

The males have a black head, a white half-collar, a black back, a white rump, and a black tail; the wings are black with a large white patch on the top side of the inner wing. The upper breast is usually dark orange-red, with a sharp or gradual transition to white or pale orange on the lower breast and belly depending on subspecies. In a few, black replaces the orange breast feathers in part or entirely. Females have brown rather than black above and on the head with an indistinct paler eyebrow line, chestnut-buff rather than orange below, and less white on the wings.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Matthew Fainman · CC BY 4.0
Pied Bush Chat (Saxicola caprata)

Pied Bush Chat

Saxicola caprata

Small15 gShrubland

At 13 cm (5.1 in), the pied bush chat is slightly smaller than the Siberian stonechat, Saxicola maurus, although it has a similar dumpy structure and upright stance. The male is black except for a white rump, wing patch and lower belly. The iris is dark brown, the bill and legs black. The female is drab brown and slightly streaked. Juveniles have a scaly appearance on the underside but dark above like the females. A number of geographic populations have been given subspecies status: nominate caprata (Linnaeus, 1766) is found in Luzon and Mindoro, in the Philippines.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Haneesh K M. · CC0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: African Stonechat and Pied Bush Chat.