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WHINCHAT FEMALE
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
WHINCHAT (SAXICOLA RUBETRA)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
The Whinchat, Saxicola rubetra, is a small European passerine bird.The Whinchat is similar in size to its relative the European Robin (Erithacus rubecula). Both sexes have brownish upperparts, a yellowish rump, a buff throat and breast, a whitish belly, a blackish tail with white bases to the outher rectrices. The male in breeding plumage has blackish head sides almost encircled by a strong white supercilium and malar stripe and white wing patches.
The female is duller overall, in particular having pale brown head sides and a buff supercilium, malar stripe and wing patches. Males in nonbreeding plumage and immatures are similar.
This species represents a fairly basal divergence of the genus Saxicola.
S. rubetra is a migratory insectivorous species breeding in open rough pasture or similar uncultivated grass- or shrubland in Europe east to the Ural Mountains approximately.
The birds like to perch on elevated spots such as telephone wires, from where they make sallies to catch flying insects.
They winter in northern sub-Saharan Africa; they arrive in Western Africa at the start of the dry season. Molt of the remiges does not usually take place in winter quarters, but young birds may replace their first set of remiges before their first migration back to the breeding grounds.
I took this photo quickly before I tried to get closer. This one is a male and as I took a few steps forward the female who had been closer to me all along took to the air.
The Whinchats that I have seen have always been perched on the tops of Heathers very prominently. This one did not allow me to approach but last year they were much more confiding and not been too quick to fly off but as it happened this was because they had newly fledged youngsters nearby and they were reluctant to leave them.
I would say that if you see a female Stonechat and you think it may be a female Whinchat then look for any stripe that goes way way back and if there is any doubt whatsoever then it is a Stonechat for sure. Once you see a Whinchat then there is no doubt whatsoever. |
nglen, ubc64 has marked this note useful
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