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Stonechat information request (1 Viewer)

Earnest lad

Well-known member
Please may I request advice. My knowledge of the Stonechat complex is very scant and I am trying to learn a little. The word complex does seem apt in this case, what with the different splits, subspecies, and so on - European, "eastern type", Amur Stonechat , etc etc etc.

Some time ago I took the attached photo (Lancashire, UK) as it was flying off. I managed to get the rump showing which, as seen, has distinct "spots" or "streaks" on it.

My question (for future reference) is : when a member of the Stonechat family is seen to have a spotted rump, is this entirely diagnostic of European Stonechat. (In other wordsany of the Eastern Stonechat types, Amur Stonechats, or others also sometimes have this. Or are those ones known to have plain rumps?

Many thanks in advance.
 

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A heavily spotted rump is diagnostic of European Stonechat, yes. Also it is overall darker in colour. Some breeding birds increasingly from Eastern Central Europe eastwards can look suspiciously similar to Siberian Stonechat (maurus the palest form), because males can show a completely plain rump. Stejneger's is generally somewhat darker than Siberian and may show a few very distinct streaks at the rump:Birds Korea - ID-Note - Stejneger's-Stonechat

Hope that helps
 
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A heavily spotted rump is diagnostic of European Stonechat, yes. Also it is overall darker in colour. Some breeding birds increasingly from Eastern Central Europe eastwards can look suspiciously similar to Siberian Stonechat (maurus the palest form), because males can show a completely plain rump. Stejneger's is generally somewhat darker than Siberian and may show a few very distinct streaks at the rump:Birds Korea - ID-Note - Stejneger's-Stonechat

Hope that helps
That is indeed most helpful - thank you - I notice that in the Stejneger photo of your link, that there was as mentioned, some streaking on the rump. Please may I enquire: Would you say stejnegerii can sometimes have a rump streaked as heavily as the bird in my photo, or can my bird be safely assigned as European Stonechat?
 

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