Bird : Saxicola rubicola ( European Stonechat - Μαυρολαίμης )

Vasos Vasiliou - Lefkosia - MALE

Scientific name: Saxicola rubicola
English name:   European Stonechat
Greek name: Μαυρολαίμης 
Cyprus name:παπαθκια
Size:  12.5 cm
Wing Span: 18 - 21cm
Weight: 13 to 17 g
Food: insects, although they include seeds and fruits when live prey is scarce.
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
Present in Cyprus : Winter Visitor

Vasos Vasiliou - Lefkosia - FEMALE

Marios Philippou - Fasouri Marsh Lemesos - MALE


Vasos Vasiliou - Lefkosia - FEMALE


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The European stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a subspecies of the common stonechat. Long considered a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, genetic evidence has placed it and its relatives in the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. It is found across Europe, as far east as Ukraine and the South Caucasus, and in parts of North Africa.[2]

Distribution and habitat

European stonechats breed in heathland, coastal dunes and rough grassland with scattered small shrubs and bramble, open gorse, tussocks or heather. They are short-distance migrants or non-migratory, with part of the population (particularly from northeastern parts of the range, where winters are colder) moving south to winter further south in Europe and more widely in north Africa.[7]