European Stonechat

Saxicola rubicola

Call sounds exactly like two pebbles being clacked together. Built-in mail notification.

Population: Large and overall increasing; European breeding population estimated in the low millions of pairs (e.g., UK alone ~65,000 pairs in 2016, up sharply since the 1990s)
Habitat: Open, low scrubby habitat with scattered perches — heathland, coastal dunes, rough grassland, gorse/heather moorland, and farmland with hedgerows or bramble
Fun fact: Its name comes from its distinctive call, which sounds like two small stones being knocked together; genetic studies showed it belongs in the Old World flycatcher family (Muscicapidae) rather than the thrushes, and in 2002 DNA evidence split it from the wider "common stonechat" complex as its own species, Saxicola rubicola.
Range: Breeds across most of Europe (Britain/Ireland and southwestern Norway/Denmark south to Iberia and the Mediterranean) east to Ukraine and the South Caucasus, plus parts of North Africa (e.g., Morocco); Atlantic-coast populations are largely resident while more continental/easterly populations migrate to winter around the Mediterranean basin and North Africa
Diet: Mainly insects and other invertebrates (beetles, flies, caterpillars, spiders, worms), typically caught by dropping from an exposed low perch to the ground; supplements with seeds and berries, especially in autumn and winter
Size: 0.125 m
Wingspan: 0.195 m
Lifespan: 7 years

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