More on Stonechats

In between work today I've been reading and talking about Stonechats inspired by both recent experiences and also Steve Gale found a pale Stonechat on Little Woodcote yesterday evening so I met him there this morning. Steve's full account of that bird HERE which contains some lovely videos and good discussion. 

There's certainly a lot of complexity surrounding Stonechat identification and taxonomy. In short, in a vagrant context in the UK there are several taxa to consider including:

a) two 'European Stonechats' -Atlantic Stonechat (hibernans) and  Continental Stonechat (rubicola)

b) three 'Eastern Stonechats'- Siberian Stonechat (maurus), Stejneger's Stonechat (Stejnegeri) and Caspian Stonechat (Hemprichii) 

According to IOC taxonomy there are three species involved: European Stonechat (including hibernans and rubicola), Siberian Stonechat (maurus and hemprichii) and Stejnegner's Stonechat (stejnegeri). 

Atlantic Stonechat (our default resident taxon) is generally richer toned and darker than Continental Stonechat but there is a lot of variation (and intergradation). Continental Stonechat has not officially been recorded in the UK but it is a suspected (but yet unproven) migrant.

Eastern Stonechats differ from European Stonechats in generally having paler rumps, darker underwing coverts and overall paler in all plumages. In first-winter plumage (the most likely plumage a vagrant will be) Siberian Stonechat is peachy toned, with a contrasting white throat, pale wing panel and peachy wrap around rump and clear flanks. Stejneger's Stonechat is generally darker than Siberian overall with a chestnut rump (with 60 percent of birds have streaks on the upper tail coverts) and has a broader bill base. Caspian Stonechat is similar to other Easterns but the critical feature is the white at the base of the tail feathers which in extreme cases can resemble the tail of a Black-eared Wheatear. 

The official BBRC line at the moment for the acceptance of either Siberian or Stejneger's is that the plumage and DNA evidence need to support each other with the majority of records being classified as Siberian/Stejneger's (over 400 historical records). Basically DNA evidence is essential to separate the two. 

So that's it in a nutshell (for UK - there's more to it but that's all we need to know in a UK context). Here's a few shots of a mix of Stonechats from recent birds and a few other relevant birds that have featured on this blog in the past. 

The Medmerry first winter female 'Eastern Stonechat' in comparison with a presumed first-winter female Atlantic Stonechat (above and below) . The above shot showing the contrast in the rump colour and contrast is striking! 

Today's pale bird at Little Woodcote. Another female bird.  See Steve's blog for full discussion HERE. The pale supercilium, pale wing panel and paler tones are all features of Eastern birds but the underwing coverts appeared grey and the rump was well marked. This could be a Continental Stonechat candidate. 

A couple of pale end spectrum female European Stonechats (above and below) . They can get even paler than this. Remember the Richmond Park bird HERE.

A few darker female European Stonechats (above and below) Presumably Atlantics. 

A particularly dark female European Stonechat (presumably an Atlantic) 

...and a male European Stonechat (presumed Atlantic) from yesterday showing an evenly well marked rump typical of European Stonechat. Identification of males in winter and summer plumages is another box of chocolates altogether - not for here or now. The best reference for the current state of play on all this is 'Eastern Stonechats' in Britain, British Birds, 112: 517-534.