Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus)

Chunky little bird of open landscapes; often sits on exposed perches. Breeding male has a black head, broad white half-collar, and rusty-red chest. Non-breeding male is patchier, with a paler head and chest. Female is predominantly streaky brown above, with a weaker, less contrasting face and chest pattern.

The Siberian stonechat or Asian stonechat is a recently validated species of the Old-World flycatcher family. Like the other thrush-like flycatchers, it was often placed in the Turdidae in the past. It breeds in the East Palearctic including in easternmost Europe and winters in the Old-World tropics.

European Stonechat is very similar and can pose identification problems where the species overlap; look for Siberian’s larger white wing patch, duller orange on the chest, and whiter rump. Amur Stonechat is extremely similar, and in areas of overlap, or in cases of vagrancy, most individuals are inseparable based on current knowledge.

The female has pale brown upperparts and head, white neck patches (not a full collar), and a pale, unstreaked pinkish-yellow rump. Males in winter plumage are intermediate between summer males and females, with a supercilium resembling the whinchat (S. rubetra); from this species and the female it can be distinguished by the full white collar

If seen at close distance, it can be recognized that its primary remiges are distinctly longer than in S. rubicola. In this, it closely resembles the whinchat, which like S. maurus is adapted to long-distance migrations.

The male has a clicking call, like two pebbles knocked together. The song is high and twittering like the dunnock (Prunella modularis), an unrelated passeridan songbird belonging to the Passeroidea.