# European Stonechat

*Saxicola rubicola*

Its common name refers to its call, which sounds remarkably like two pebbles being struck together ('tsak-tsak').

- **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.

## About

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.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/adda3a91-c08b-4680-be40-608415fbdead
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxicola rubicola
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/134125239/medium.jpg (Paul Lewis, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.