Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra)

Other Names (World)
Whinchat, Meadow Chat, Grass Chat

Family
Muscicapidae (Old World Flycatchers And Chats)

Size
12.50 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Habitat
Subtropical and tropical dry grassland and shrubland, temperate grassland, shrubland and forest. From sea-level - 3,000 m.

Range (Guide)

Albania (B), Algeria, Andorra (B), Armenia (B), Austria (B), Azerbaijan (B), Bahrain (P), Belarus (B), Belgium (B), Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B), Bulgaria (B) (NB) (P), Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], C�te dIvoire, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (B), Cyprus, Czech Republic (B), Denmark (B) (P), Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia (B), Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Finland (B) (P), France (B) (P), Gabon, Gambia, Georgia (B), Germany (B) (P), Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece (B) (P), Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Hungary (B), Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B), Iraq (P), Ireland (B), Israel, Italy (B) (P), Jordan (P), Kazakhstan (B), Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia (B), Lebanon, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein (B), Lithuania (B), Luxembourg (B), Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (B), Malawi, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Moldova [Republic of] (B), Montenegro (B), Morocco, Netherlands Antilles (B), Nigeria, Norway (B), Oman, Poland (B), Portugal (B), Qatar, Romania (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B), Russia (European) (B), Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia (B), Sierra Leone, Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (B), Slovenia (B), Somalia, South Africa, Spain (B) (NB), Sudan, Sweden (B), Switzerland (B), Syrian Arab Republic, Tanzania [United Republic of], Togo, Tunisia, Turkey (B) (NB), Uganda, Ukraine (B) (P), United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (B), Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia.

Vagrant to Iceland, Namibia, Niger, Seychelles, Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands, Zimbabwe.

Unknown to Afghanistan.

Europe east to western Siberia, north-western and eastern Asia Minor, Caucasus and north-western Iran; non-breeding Africa.

Population
Estimated population is 15,000,000 - 40,000,000 (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Mainly invertebrates, some seeds.

Voice
A harsh 'tzec' call. Song, a long series of short units, varied with fluty and scratchy phrases.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (498)...)

Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra) [XC306254]
by Albert Lastukhin from Dahme-Spreewald (near Heidesee), Brandenburg, Ukraine (call)

Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra) [XC319333]
by Marco Dragonetti from Gmina Bia\u0142owie\u017ca (near Budy), hajnowski, podlaskie, Norway (song)

Nest
Cup of leaves and grasses, on the ground, lined with fine stems, hair and moss.

Eggs (Guide)
4 - 7; smooth, glossy, pale blue, finely speckled red-brown.

Subspecies
No subspecies.

References
See References.

The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7

Files:

JPG files for Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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