Pied Bush Chat
Saxicola caprata
The Pied Bush Chat (Saxicola caprata) is a common chats, old world flycatchers, and alli found in 34 countries, weighing about 15 g. The pied bush chat is a small passerine bird found ranging from West Asia and Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
About the Pied Bush Chat
The pied bush chat is a small passerine bird found ranging from West Asia and Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. About sixteen subspecies are recognized through its wide range with many island forms. It is a familiar bird of countryside and open scrub or grassland where it is found perched at the top of short thorn trees or other shrubs, looking out for insect prey. They pick up insects mainly from the ground, and were, like other chats, placed in the thrush family Turdidae, but are now considered as Old World flycatchers.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
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.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Finland, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Qatar.
When to see it
The Pied Bush Chat can be seen all year round, with peak activity in February. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Pied Bush Chat?
- 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. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Pied Bush Chat?
- The Pied Bush Chat is a small sized bird weighing about 15 g.
- Where can you see a Pied Bush Chat?
- The Pied Bush Chat occurs in 34 countries, including India, Thailand, Nepal, Cambodia and the Philippines.
- What birds look similar to a Pied Bush Chat?
- The Pied Bush Chat is most easily confused with the African Stonechat, the Siberian Stonechat and the Grey Bush Chat.
- Is the Pied Bush Chat endangered?
- The Pied Bush Chat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Pied Bush Chat for real
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