Amur Stonechat

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📌 Taxonomy

• Scientific name: Saxicola stejnegeri

• Common name: Amur Stonechat

• Family: Muscicapidae (Old World flycatchers)

• Genus: Saxicola

• Close relatives: European Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola), Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus).

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📏 Size and Shape

• Small passerine bird, about 12–13 cm long.

• Weight ranges 12–16 g.

• Compact body with a relatively short tail and rounded wings.

• Upright posture, often perched on grasses or shrubs.

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🎨 Appearance

• Breeding male:

  • Glossy black head, throat, and partial breast.

  • White neck patch forming a striking “collar.”

  • Dark wings with white patches, and underparts washed with orange-buff.

• Female:

  • Much paler, sandy-brown plumage.

  • Buff-orange chest and faint pale eyebrow (supercilium).

• Juvenile:

  • Similar to female but with streaked and mottled plumage for camouflage.

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🌍 Distribution and Habitat

• Breeding range: Northeastern Asia — including Russia (Amur and eastern Siberia), Northeast China, Korea, and Japan.

• Wintering grounds: Southeast Asia — Southern China, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia.

• Habitat: Open fields, meadows, farmland edges, marshy grasslands, and scrublands.

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🍽️ Diet

• Primarily insectivorous: beetles, flies, grasshoppers, caterpillars.

• Occasionally feeds on berries and seeds, especially in winter.

• Hunts from a perch, swooping down to catch prey on the ground (“sit-and-wait” feeding style).

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🪺 Breeding

• Breeding season: May to July.

• Nest: built low to the ground in thick grass or shrubs.

• Structure: dry grass and roots, lined with feathers or hair.

• Clutch size: 4–6 eggs, pale with speckles.

• Incubation: 12–13 days, mainly by the female.

• Both parents feed chicks after hatching.

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🕊️ Behavior

• Very active, frequently flits between perches.

• Often perches on tall grass stalks, fences, or posts while scanning for insects.

• Call: a sharp, dry “chack-chack,” reminiscent of stones being tapped together — origin of the name Stonechat.

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📊 Conservation Status

• IUCN Red List: Least Concern.

• Population is stable overall, though habitat loss due to intensive agriculture can pose local threats.