Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin (Cercotrichas galactotes) | Photos, Calls and ID

LCLeast ConcernInvertebrates

ShrublandCup nestSmall · 20 g

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin (Cercotrichas galactotes), photo 4 — Photo: (c) Nathan Mesnildrey, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin (Cercotrichas galactotes), photo 5 — Photo: no rights reserved · CC0

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin (Cercotrichas galactotes), photo 6 — Photo: (c) David Boso, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin (Cercotrichas galactotes), photo 7 — Photo: (c) Karim Haddad, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin (Cercotrichas galactotes), photo 8 — Photo: (c) Mourad Harzallah, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin (Cercotrichas galactotes), photo 9 — Photo: (c) Tom Field, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin (Cercotrichas galactotes), photo 10 — Photo: (c) Karim Haddad, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

What the Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin sounds like

Sonogram of the Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

Recorded by tsilianidis saky · Song · Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace, Greece · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

Adult male and female rufous-tailed scrub robin look alike and measure about 6 inches (150 mm) long with relatively long legs and a large rounded tail. The upper parts are a rich brownish chestnut, with the rump and uppertail coverts rather more rufous. There is a distinct curved, creamy-white broad streak from the nostrils to behind the eye and a dark brown line through the eye. The under-eye area is whitish and the ear coverts pale brown. The eye and the beak are both brown but the lower mandible of the beak has a greyish base.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 6 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 59 countries with regular records, and 6 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 United Kingdom, Norway, Netherlands, France, Finland, Montenegro.

About the Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin

The rufous-tailed scrub robin is a medium-sized member of the family Muscicapidae. Other common names include the rufous scrub robin, rufous bush chat, rufous bush robin and the rufous warbler. It breeds around the Mediterranean and east to Pakistan. It also breeds south of the Sahara from the Sahel region east to Somalia; these African birds are sometimes considered to be a separate species, the African scrub robin. It is partially migratory, wintering in Africa and India. This is a very rare visitor to northern Europe.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Kalahari Scrub RobinCercotrichas paenaThe Kalahari scrub robin is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae.

Black Scrub RobinCercotrichas podobeThe black scrub robin is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae.

Brown-backed Scrub RobinCercotrichas hartlaubiThe brown-backed scrub robin is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae.

Side by side: Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin vs White-browed Scrub Robin · Mocking Cliff Chat vs Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin

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