Species guide
African Stonechat: how to recognise it
A bird of Africa and Asia. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Nik Borrow · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Saxicola torquatus
- Family
- Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats
- Size
- About 12–14 cm
- Habitat
- Open grassland, moors and farmland
- Found in
- Africa and Asia
The key marks
The male has a black head, white neck patches and an orange chest; the female is streaky brown.
Voice
A sharp, scolding “wheet-chat”, like two stones tapped together.
Good to know
It perches on top of a bush and makes short flights to catch insects.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in open grassland, moors and farmland. It is especially common in Madagascar. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.