Learn what every symbol on the card means.Full credits and sources at beakbrain.com/symbols
ShrublandTiny · 15 g
What the European Stonechat sounds like
ID tip
The stonechat is 11.5–13 cm (4.5–5.1 in) long and weighs 13–17 g (0.46–0.60 oz), slightly smaller than the European robin. Both sexes have distinctively short wings, shorter than those of the more migratory whinchat and Siberian stonechat. The summer male has black upperparts, a black head, an orange throat and breast, and a white belly and vent. It also has a white half-collar on the sides of its neck, a small white scapular patch on the wings, and a very small white patch on the rump often streaked with black.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the European Stonechat
One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.
Where to see the European Stonechat
The map shades 69 countries with regular records, and 11 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in Finland, India, Thailand, Mauritania, China, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Yemen, Cambodia, Nepal, San Marino.
About the European Stonechat
The European stonechat is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a subspecies of the common stonechat. Long considered a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, genetic evidence has placed it and its relatives in the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. It is found across Europe, as far east as Ukraine and the South Caucasus, and in parts of North Africa.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
WhinchatSaxicola rubetraThe whinchat is a short-tailed bird, moving on the ground with small, rapid hops and frequently bobbing and flicking its wings and tail.
Pied Bush ChatSaxicola caprataAt 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.
African StonechatSaxicola torquatusThe 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.
Side by side: European Robin vs European Stonechat · European Stonechat vs Whinchat · European Stonechat vs Pied Bush Chat · African Stonechat vs European Stonechat
Learn the European Stonechat in the BeakBrain App
Photo and call practice. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.
Play today's Daily BirdEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.