Siberian Stonechat

Overview

The Siberian stonechat (Saxicola maurus) is a recently validated species of Old World flycatcher that resembles its close relative, the European stonechat. It is a migratory bird that breeds in temperate Asia and winters in the tropics.

Identification

• Male breeding plumage features black upperparts and head with a conspicuous white collar, scapular patch, and rump, plus restricted orange on the throat.
• Females have pale brown upperparts, white neck patches, and a pale, unstreaked pinkish-yellow rump.
• At close range, primary remiges are distinctly longer than in the European stonechat.
• The male has a clicking call resembling two pebbles knocked together, and a high, twittering song similar to the dunnock.

Habitat

The breeding range covers most of temperate Asia, from eastern Turkey and the Caspian Sea to the Himalaya and southwest China, and extends to the far northeast of Europe. It breeds in open rough scrubland or rough grassland with scattered shrubs, from sea level to over 4,000 m ASL. Wintering grounds stretch from southern Japan and northeast Africa down to Thailand and India.

Diet

The Siberian stonechat is insectivorous, though specific foraging techniques are not detailed in the reference material.

Did you know?

On migration, small numbers reach as far west as western Europe and exceptionally as far east as Alaska in North America.