17-1-2024 CATARROJA, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

The European stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a subspecies of the common stonechat. Long considered a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, genetic evidence has placed it and its relatives in the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae.

European stonechats breed in heathland, coastal dunes and rough grassland with scattered small shrubs and bramble, open gorse, tussocks or heather. They are short-distance migrants or non-migratory, with part of the population (particularly from northeastern parts of the range, where winters are colder) moving south to winter further south in Europe and more widely in north Africa.

5-12-2023 EL PALMAR, ALBUFERA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

Perky little bird of open country, especially heathland with gorse, moorland, weedy meadows, scrubby marsh margins, and rough grassland with scattered low bushes. Perches atop bushes and on fences, dropping to the ground to feed, before flying back up to a perch. Male distinctive, with blackish head set off by big white patch on sides of neck, orangey breast. Female brownish overall with paler eyebrow (only behind eye, unlike Whinchat), dull orangey breast; shows paler rump in flight, contrasting with solidly blackish tail. Warbled song is short and buzzy. Calls include dry “tchak” and rising “weet.”

14-11-2023 MARJAL DE MOROS, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

European stonechats breed in heathland, coastal dunes and rough grassland with scattered small shrubs and bramble, open gorse, tussocks or heather. They are short-distance migrants or non-migratory, with part of the population (particularly from northeastern parts of the range, where winters are colder) moving south to winter further south in Europe and more widely in north Africa.

European stonechats first breed when they are one year old. They are monogamous during the breeding season but do not pair for life. The nest is built entirely by the female and is placed in dense vegetation close to the ground. It is a loose unwoven cup of dried grass lined with hair and feathers. The eggs are laid in early morning at daily intervals. The clutch is typically 4–6 eggs, which are pale blue to greenish-blue with red-brown freckles that are more numerous at the larger end. The average size of an egg is 18.7 mm × 14.4 mm (0.74 in × 0.57 in) with a weight of 2.0 g (0.071 oz). They are incubated for 13–14 days by the female beginning after the last egg is laid. Both parents care for and feed the chicks. They are brooded by the female. The nestlings fledge 12–16 days after hatching but continue to be fed by both parents for a further 4–5 days after which the female begins building a new nest for another brood while the male continues to feed the young for another 5–10 days. The parents raise two or three broods in a season.

20-3-2023 BENISSUERA, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192-Saxicola-rubicola

12-3-2023 RIO SERPIS VILLALONGA, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192-Saxicola-rubicola

1-3-2023 ALBUFERA, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192-Saxicola-rubicola

5-2-2023 RIO ALBAIDA BELLUS, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192-Saxicola-rubicola

13-1-2023 EL PALMAR, ALBUFERA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192-Saxicola-rubicola

27-11-2022 SUECA, ALBUFERA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192-Saxicola-rubicola

9-5-2022 MONTAVERNER, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192-Saxicola-rubicola

3-4-2022 POBLA DEL DUC, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192-Saxicola-rubicola

16-2-2022 EL PALMAR, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192-Saxicola-rubicola

12-1-2022 EL PALMAR, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192-Saxicola-rubicola

29-12-2021 EL PALMAR, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192-Saxicola-rubicola

1-12-2021 EL PALMAR, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192-Saxicola-rubicola

28-11-2021 LLUTXENT, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192-Saxicola-rubicola

7-11-2021 EL PALMAR, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192-Saxicola-rubicola

18-1-2021 AURA DE MARJAL GANDIA, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192-Saxicola-rubicola

 

13-1-2021 EL PALMAR, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192-Saxicola-rubicola

 

27-12-2020 CEUE DE LONGA, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN STONECHAT (FEMALE) (Saxicola rubicola)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201192-Saxicola-rubicola