210
PLATE 98: CHATS
Pied Bush Chat Saxicola caprata V
L: 13. Slimmer and slightly longer-tailed than other stonechats; tail flicked less. Jet black male has
white belly, rump and narrow shoulder-patch easily seen in its low jerky flight. Female from other
chats by unstreaked sooty earth-brown upperparts and breast, creamy belly and rufous-orange
rump, some being more rusty-brown on breast and having a slight supercilium. Voice Song a short
rich warble of whistling notes; alarm a curt chuk and a chek-chek-trweet. Habitat Cultivation, scrub,
marshes. Note Some dispersal; vagrant Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE. [Alt : Pied Stonechat]Whinchat Saxicola rubetra PM
L: 12.5. Short-tailed chat with slightly smaller head and longer primary projection than European
Stonechat, reaching almost halfway down tail. From stonechats by combination of streaked
brownish rump and white sides to base of tail. Male has bold, clear-cut white supercilium and
white stripe between blackish sides of head and orangey throat; female duller with paler throat
and browner sides of head. White spot visible on primary coverts, particularly in flight (almost
absent in some first-autumn birds). Confusion possible in autumn with immature Siberian Stonechat.
Voice Lilting song short, fast and abrupt, variable, usually a mixture of melodious and scratchy
notes; often imitates other birds; alarm call djü-tek-tek. Silent on passage. Habitat Open country,
marshes, scrub; on passage in fields and other open ground. Note Passage hatched.European Stonechat Saxicola rubicola wv
L: 12. Short-tailed, short-winged chat with large rounded head and upright stance, frequently flicks
wings and tail. Adult male easily told from Whinchat by black head and throat, reddish breast,
white neck-patch and black tail. Female duller with dark brown head and usually throat, reddish-
brown upper breast, with almost Whinchat-like supercilium variably present in autumn. Male
European Stonechat has variable width grey-brown to white rump; if latter usually (but not always)
narrow or with some dark streaks; grey underwing-coverts and axillaries (blackish in Siberian
Stonechat) with white collar narrower and less extensive than in male maurus Siberian Stonechat.
Female European has dark earth-brown back, usually a streaked brownish rump, and is dusky or
whitish on throat (Siberian typically only whitish), although some perhaps indistinguishable from
maurus. Female Siberian Stonechat has paler sandy to warm buff upperparts, often with a more
obvious supercilium, and a pale unstreaked rump. Immature European Stonechat is darker, lacks
pale rump of maurus and has less extensive white on coverts. Voice Short song has irregular, rapidly
repeated series of double notes; alarm call wheet-trak-trak like pebbles hit together. Habitat Open
terrain; sea level to over 3,000m, in cultivated areas or scrub-covered slopes. Note Breeding range
apparently expanding eastwards; winter hatched, but rare in Arabia.Siberian Stonechat Saxicola maurus WV, PM
L: 12. Male in breeding plumage has broader, more extensive white collar than European Stonechat
and conspicuous, broad, white to salmon-pink or orange-buff rump. First-autumn Siberian
Stonechat superficially recalls autumn Whinchat. Female lacks the clear-cut, long, creamy-white
supercilium of Whinchat, but often difficult to separate from European Stonechat (see above). Males
of different subspecies described below.
S. m. maurus (breeds European Russia) has longer primary projection than short-winged European
Stonechat (of W and central Turkey); male maurus has unstreaked orange-buff to white rump
(wider than in European male); black tail; broader white half-collar; paler back and axillaries jet
black (greyish-white in male European Stonechat).
S. m. variegatus (formerly S. m. armenicus, breeds SE Turkey, N and W Iran) is also long-winged
but has less white at sides of tail (not always visible) than hemprichii; male has dark chestnut breast
contrasting with pure white belly.
S. m. hemprichii (Caspian Stonechat; formerly S. m. variegatus, breeds Caspian) has even longer
primary projection (approaching Whinchat); much white in sides of tail-base (recalling Northern
Wheatear); the palest subspecies, male with warm buff upperparts and large white patch on rump,
sides of neck and shoulders.
Voice As European Stonechat. Habitat Open terrain; sea level to 3,000m, in cultivated areas or
scrub-covered slopes; on passage/winter any open ground. Note Winter hatched. Distribution
poorly documented by subspecies; maurus most frequently reported in region, hemprichii scarce
or vagrant in Arabia including Oman; winter range of variegatus unclear – likely to occur, but no
accepted records for Oman.