Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) 10755
A male - for a change.
A small, dumpy chat, the stonechat is a little smaller than a robin. It has a big head and short tail. It can frequently be seen sitting on the top of gorse bushes, flicking its wings and making a call like two small stones being hit together. Stonechats inhabit heaths, bogs and conifer plantations. They eat invertebrates, seeds and fruit, such as blackberries.
How to identify
Male stonechats have a black head, brown back, black throat with a white half-collar, and orange-red breast. Females and juveniles are paler. Darker than the similar Whinchat, the stonechat does not have a pale eyestripe or pale patches at the base of the tail.
Distribution
Resident on heathland throughout the country. Can also be found around the coast during the winter.
Statistics
Length: 12cm
Wingspan: 20cm
Weight: 15g
Average lifespan: 4-5 years
www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/birds/thrushes-c...
Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) 10755
A male - for a change.
A small, dumpy chat, the stonechat is a little smaller than a robin. It has a big head and short tail. It can frequently be seen sitting on the top of gorse bushes, flicking its wings and making a call like two small stones being hit together. Stonechats inhabit heaths, bogs and conifer plantations. They eat invertebrates, seeds and fruit, such as blackberries.
How to identify
Male stonechats have a black head, brown back, black throat with a white half-collar, and orange-red breast. Females and juveniles are paler. Darker than the similar Whinchat, the stonechat does not have a pale eyestripe or pale patches at the base of the tail.
Distribution
Resident on heathland throughout the country. Can also be found around the coast during the winter.
Statistics
Length: 12cm
Wingspan: 20cm
Weight: 15g
Average lifespan: 4-5 years
www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/birds/thrushes-c...