Common Stonechat

Common Stonechat
Originally uploaded by maxloxton.

Stonechats:

The genus Saxicola, the stonechats or chats, is a genus of 14 species of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World. They are insectivores of open scrubland and grassland with scattered small shrubs.

Due to confusion of subspecies allocation, the name S. torquata was briefly used for the European species, the African Stonechat being S. axillaris.

Species list:

Whinchat, Saxicola rubetra
Stoliczka's Bushchat or White-browed Bushchat, Saxicola macrorhyncha
Hodgson's Bushchat or White-throated Bushchat, Saxicola insignis
Fuerteventura Chat or Canary Island Stonechat, Saxicola dacotiae
Chinijo Chat, Saxicola dacotiae murielae - extinct (early 20th century)
European Stonechat, Saxicola rubicola (previously S. torquata rubicola)
Siberian Stonechat or Asian Stonechat, Saxicola maura (previously S. torquata maura)
African Stonechat, Saxicola torquata
Reunion Stonechat, Saxicola tectes
White-tailed Stonechat, Saxicola leucura
Pied Bushchat, Saxicola caprata
Jerdon's Bushchat, Saxicola jerdoni
Grey Bushchat, Saxicola ferrea
White-bellied Bushchat or Timor Bushchat, Saxicola gutturalis
Buff-streaked Bushchat, Saxicola bifasciata

Scientific Classification:

Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Family:Muscicapidae
Genus:Saxicola (Bechstein, 1802)

References

Urquhart, Ewan & Bowley, Adam (2002): Stonechats. A Guide to the Genus Saxicola. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-6024-4

Wink, M.; Sauer-Gürth, H. & Gwinner, E. (2002): Evolutionary relationships of stonechats and related species inferred from mitochondrial-DNA sequences and genomic fingerprinting. British Birds 95: 349-355. PDF fulltext