European Stonechat: how to recognise it
A bird of Europe, 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 © Erik Eckstein · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Saxicola rubicola
- Family
- Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats
- Size
- About 12 cm
- Habitat
- Dunes, heathland and rough grassland with bushes
- Found in
- Europe, Africa and Asia
The key marks
Male has a black head, a white half-collar and an orange breast; it perches upright on top of bushes and flicks its wings. Whinchat has a bold pale eyebrow and white sides to the tail.
Voice
A hard 'wheet-tak-tak', like stones knocked together.
Good to know
Its alarm call sounds like two pebbles being knocked together, which gives the bird its name.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Whinchat. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in dunes, heathland and rough grassland with bushes. It is especially common in Spain, Israel and Morocco. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.