European Stonechat
Encyclopedia
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.
It is 11.5–13 cm long and weighs 13–17 g, slightly smaller than the European Robin
. Both sexes have distinctively short wings, shorter than those of the more migratory Whinchat
and Siberian Stonechat
. The summer male has black upperparts, a black head, an orange throat and breast, and a white belly and vent. It also has white half-collar on the sides of its neck, a small white scapular patch on the wings, and a very small white patch on the rump often streaked with black. The female has brown upperparts and head, and no white neck patches, rump or belly, these areas being streaked dark brown on paler brown, the only white being the scapular patch on the wings and even this often being buffy-white.
European Stonechats breed in heathland
, coastal dune
s and rough grassland
with scattered small shrub
s 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.
The male's song is high and twittering like a Dunnock
. Both sexes have a clicking call like stones knocking together.
are currently accepted:
The two subspecies differ in colour intensity following Gloger's rule
, with S. r. rubicola paler and with larger white patches in the drier European continental
and mediterranean climate
s, and S. r. hibernans darker brown with less white in the humid Atlantic oceanic climate
. They intergrade broadly where their ranges meet, from southeastern England south through France and Spain, and many individuals are not identifiable to subspecies. Extreme examples of S. r. rubicola from the driest southern areas of its range such as the Algarve and Sicily
are particularly pale and with a large white rump, and can be very similar to Siberian Stonechat
s in appearance. nDNA microsatellite fingerprinting reveals a very small degree of separation between the two subspecies.
In the past, the European Stonechat was generally considered conspecific with the Siberian Stonechat
and African Stonechat
, lumped together as Common Stonechat
S. torquatus. A new review adding mtDNA cytochrome b
sequence
and nuclear DNA microsatellite fingerprinting evidence strongly supports their separation into distinct species. Due to a misunderstanding of the rules of Zoological nomenclature, for a short time the name S. torquatus was erroneously used for the European Stonechat rather than the African Stonechat.
Together with the Siberian Stonechat and Canary Islands Stonechat it constitutes eastern and western representatives of an Eurasia
n lineage; the Asian and European populations separated during the Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene
, roughly 1.5-2.5 mya, and Fuerteventura was colonised by western European or northwest African birds somewhat later in the Early Pleistocene, about 1-2 mya.
The etymology
of the English name derives from its call, sounding like two stones knocked together. The scientific name Saxicola means "rock-dweller", from Latin
saxum, a rock + incola, dwelling in; and rubicola, "bramble-dweller", from Latin Rubus
, brambles + incola; the subspecies name hibernans refers to Ireland (Latin, Hibernia).
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
that was formerly classed as a subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of the Common Stonechat
Common Stonechat
Common Stonechat is the name used for the Saxicola species Saxicola torquatus when this is treated in its broad sense.It is however now more widely considered to be a superspecies consisting of several related but distinct species, which are outwardly fairly similar but genetically distinct and...
. Long considered a member of the thrush
Thrush (bird)
The thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur worldwide.-Characteristics:Thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds, inhabiting wooded areas, and often feed on the ground or eat small fruit. The smallest thrush may be the Forest Rock-thrush, at and...
family Turdidae, genetic evidence has placed it and its relatives in the Old World flycatcher
Old World flycatcher
The Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae is a large family of small passerine birds mostly restricted to the Old World. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing.-Characteristics:...
family Muscicapidae.
It is 11.5–13 cm long and weighs 13–17 g, slightly smaller than the European Robin
European Robin
The European Robin , most commonly known in Anglophone Europe simply as the Robin, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family , but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher...
. Both sexes have distinctively short wings, shorter than those of the more migratory Whinchat
Whinchat
The Whinchat Saxicola rubetra is a small migratory passerine bird breeding in Europe and western Asia and wintering in Africa.Its scientific name means "small rock-dweller", in reference to its habitat...
and Siberian Stonechat
Siberian Stonechat
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...
. The summer male has black upperparts, a black head, an orange throat and breast, and a white belly and vent. It also has white half-collar on the sides of its neck, a small white scapular patch on the wings, and a very small white patch on the rump often streaked with black. The female has brown upperparts and head, and no white neck patches, rump or belly, these areas being streaked dark brown on paler brown, the only white being the scapular patch on the wings and even this often being buffy-white.
European Stonechats breed in heathland
Heath (habitat)
A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
, coastal dune
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
s and rough grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
with scattered small shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s and bramble
Bramble
Brambles are thorny plants of the genus Rubus, in the rose family . Bramble fruit is the fruit of any such plant, including the blackberry and raspberry. The word comes from Germanic *bram-bezi, whence also German Brombeere , Dutch Braam and French framboise...
, open gorse
Gorse
Gorse, furze, furse or whin is a genus of about 20 plant species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to western Europe and northwest Africa, with the majority of species in Iberia.Gorse is closely related to the brooms, and like them, has green...
, tussocks or heather
Calluna
Calluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing perennial shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade...
. They are short-distance migrants
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
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.
The male's song is high and twittering like a Dunnock
Dunnock
The Dunnock, Prunella modularis, is a small passerine bird found throughout temperate Europe and into Asia. It is by far the most widespread member of the accentor family, which otherwise consists of mountain species...
. Both sexes have a clicking call like stones knocking together.
Taxonomy
Two weakly defined subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
are currently accepted:
- Saxicola rubicola rubicola. In the south and east of its range, from DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
southwest to SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and northern MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, east to PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, and southeast to TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. - Saxicola rubicola hibernans. Northwestern Europe in Atlantic coastal areas, in southwestern NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Great BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and northwestern FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Birds in coastal PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
are also often listed as this subspecies but this is disputed.
The two subspecies differ in colour intensity following Gloger's rule
Gloger's rule
Gloger's Rule is a zoological rule which states that within a species of endotherms, more heavily pigmented forms tend to be found in more humid environments, e.g. near the equator. It was named after the zoologist Constantin Wilhelm Lambert Gloger, who first remarked upon this phenomenon in 1833...
, with S. r. rubicola paler and with larger white patches in the drier European continental
Continental climate
Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...
and mediterranean climate
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
s, and S. r. hibernans darker brown with less white in the humid Atlantic oceanic climate
Oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
. They intergrade broadly where their ranges meet, from southeastern England south through France and Spain, and many individuals are not identifiable to subspecies. Extreme examples of S. r. rubicola from the driest southern areas of its range such as the Algarve and Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
are particularly pale and with a large white rump, and can be very similar to Siberian Stonechat
Siberian Stonechat
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...
s in appearance. nDNA microsatellite fingerprinting reveals a very small degree of separation between the two subspecies.
In the past, the European Stonechat was generally considered conspecific with the Siberian Stonechat
Siberian Stonechat
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...
and African Stonechat
African Stonechat
The African Stonechat is a species of the Old World flycatcher family , inhabiting sub-Saharan Africa and adjacent regions. Like the other chats, it was long assigned to the thrush family , to which the chats are convergent...
, lumped together as Common Stonechat
Common Stonechat
Common Stonechat is the name used for the Saxicola species Saxicola torquatus when this is treated in its broad sense.It is however now more widely considered to be a superspecies consisting of several related but distinct species, which are outwardly fairly similar but genetically distinct and...
S. torquatus. A new review adding mtDNA cytochrome b
Cytochrome b
Cytochrome b/b6 is the main subunit of transmembrane cytochrome bc1 and b6f complexes. In addition, it commonly refers to a region of mtDNA used for population genetics and phylogenetics.- Function :...
sequence
DNA sequence
The sequence or primary structure of a nucleic acid is the composition of atoms that make up the nucleic acid and the chemical bonds that bond those atoms. Because nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are unbranched polymers, this specification is equivalent to specifying the sequence of...
and nuclear DNA microsatellite fingerprinting evidence strongly supports their separation into distinct species. Due to a misunderstanding of the rules of Zoological nomenclature, for a short time the name S. torquatus was erroneously used for the European Stonechat rather than the African Stonechat.
Together with the Siberian Stonechat and Canary Islands Stonechat it constitutes eastern and western representatives of an Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
n lineage; the Asian and European populations separated during the Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene
Early Pleistocene
Calabrian is a subdivision of the Pleistocene Epoch of the Geologic time scale. ~1.8 Ma.—781,000 years ago ± 5,000 years, a period of ~.The end of the stage is defined by the last magnetic pole reversal and plunge in to an ice age and global drying possibly colder and drier than the late Miocene ...
, roughly 1.5-2.5 mya, and Fuerteventura was colonised by western European or northwest African birds somewhat later in the Early Pleistocene, about 1-2 mya.
The etymology
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
of the English name derives from its call, sounding like two stones knocked together. The scientific name Saxicola means "rock-dweller", from Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
saxum, a rock + incola, dwelling in; and rubicola, "bramble-dweller", from Latin Rubus
Rubus
Rubus is a large genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these plants have woody stems with prickles like roses; spines, bristles, and gland-tipped hairs are...
, brambles + incola; the subspecies name hibernans refers to Ireland (Latin, Hibernia).