European Stonechat
Saxicola rubicola
Its common name refers to its call, which sounds remarkably like two pebbles being struck together ('tsak-tsak').
- Scientific name
- Saxicola rubicola
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Muscicapidae › Saxicola
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Open country with scattered low bushes, heathland, coastal dunes, and rough grassland.
- Diet
- Insects, spiders, and occasionally small seeds or berries during winter months.
- Range
- Europe, North Africa, Turkey, Caucasus
- Size
- Length 11.5-13 cm; Wingspan 18-21 cm; Weight 13-17 g
- Lifespan
- 2-5 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat loss through agricultural intensification and loss of heathland; high mortality during exceptionally severe winters.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. Observe from a distance to avoid disrupting nesting or foraging. These birds are bold and will often perch on high twigs (sentinel behavior) if you remain still. No risk of injury to humans.
The European stonechat ( Saxicola rubicola ) 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.
Photo: Paul Lewis, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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