European Stonechat

Saxicola rubicola

The male has a black head, a white patch on the side of the neck and an orange-red breast, and likes to perch conspicuously on fence posts or the tops of shrubs. Its clicking call recalls two small stones being knocked together.

Group
Songbirds
Photos
4
Taken
2022–2026

Profile: European Stonechat

Family
Old World flycatchers (Muscicapidae)
Size
approx. 11.5–13 cm
Weight
approx. 13–17 g
Habitat
Open, rather dry landscapes with scattered bushes and perches, such as fallow land, scrubby meadows, heaths and bogs.
Diet
Insects, spiders and other invertebrates, usually taken on the ground from a perch.
When to see
Short-distance migrant, resident in southern Europe. In Central Europe roughly from March to October; German breeders winter mainly around the Mediterranean.

Learn more: Wikipedia · NABU (German)