European stonechat

European stonechat
Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) male, Beaulieu, Hampshire.jpg
Male S. r. hibernana
Hampshire, UK
Female S. r. rubicola
Belgium
Recorded in Surrey
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
Genus: Saxicola
Species:
S. rubicola
Binomial name
Saxicola rubicola
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms
  • Motacilla rubicola Linnaeus, 1766
  • Saxicola torquatus rubicola (Linnaeus, 1766)
  • Pratincola rubicola (Linnaeus)[1]

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 found across Europe, as far east as Ukraine and the South Caucasus, and in parts of North Africa.[2]

  1. ^ Bonhote, J. Lewis (1907). Birds of Britain. illustrated by H.E. Dresser. London: Adam and Charles Black. pp. 29/31. OCLC 1451688.
  2. ^ Urquhart, Ewan (2002). Stonechats: A Guide to the Genus Saxicola. A & C Black, 1 Jan. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-7136-6024-1.