Amur Stonechat
Saxicola stejnegeri
A chunky little bird found in a wide variety of open landscapes, often sitting on exposed perches. Breeding male has a black head, a broad white half-collar, mostly rusty-red underparts, and a white undertail and rump. Non-breeding male is patchier, with a paler head and chest. Female is predominantly streaky brown above and pale below, with a small white patch on the wing but no strongly contrasting pattern on the face. Siberian Stonechat is extremely similar, and in areas of overlap, or in cases of vagrancy, most individuals are inseparable based on current knowledge. Amur Stonechat typically shows slightly less white on the rump.
Taxonomy
Amur stonechat was generally considered a subspecies of either common stonechat (as Saxicola torquatus stejnegeri) or Siberian stonechat (as Saxicola maurus stejnegeri,), but recent genetic evidence has shown that it is distinct, in a basal position in the common stonechat superspecies; on which basis it is now accepted as a distinct species.<p>The Latin binomial commemorates the Norwegian ornithologist Leonhard Hess Stejneger.
- Scientific name
- Saxicola stejnegeri
- Authority
- (Parrot, 1908)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Saxicola
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- PAL : e Siberia and e Mongolia to Korea and Japan.
- Non-breeding range
- se Asia
Photos
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-winged Crossbill
Loxia leucoptera
Stocky, large-headed finch with a unique crossed bill. Males are pinkish-red with black wings and two bold white wingbars. Females yellowish overall. Nomadic; breeds at any time of year, whenever there is enough food available. Prefers spruce cones. Red Crossbill also has a crossed bill, but is duller overall without white wingbars. Often in small flocks. Rarely visits feeders. Listen for distinctive “machine-gun rattle” calls and high-pitched tooting, like a toy truck.
White-collared Starling
Grafisia torquata
The male is an unusual and beautiful starling that is glossy blue-black with a broad white collar. Females are duller, gray with paler mottling on the underparts. Both sexes have a yellow-orange eye. Found locally in savanna, montane grassland, and areas with a mix of savanna and forest. Often in small flocks, sometimes mixed with other starling species. The male is unmistakable; the female might be confused with other starlings, but is identified by the gray plumage without gloss, the short tail, and the yellow-orange eye. The calls include chirps and short whistles.
Greater Short-toed Lark
Calandrella brachydactyla
Small pale lark, usually seen foraging on the ground in open areas with scattered low vegetation, cultivated fields, or at roadsides. Keeps low to the ground, runs quickly. Short bill and rounded head; long tertial feathers largely hide the wings at rest. Dark patch at the neck sides and largely unstreaked belly distinctive in most plumages. Drifting, hovering song flight delivered with tail folded.
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