Pied Bushchat

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Pied Bushchat
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Muscicapidae Genus: Saxicola Species: S. caprata
Binomial name
Saxicola caprata Linnaeus, 1766

The Pied Bushchat Saxicola caprata is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It, and similar small species in the family, are often called chats.

It is a resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from the Greater Middle East through Pakistan, India and Bangladesh eastwards to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

It is found in open habitats like scrub, rough grassland and cultivation. It builds its nest in a hole in a wall or similar site, and lays 2-5 eggs.

The Pied Bushchat is slightly smaller than the Siberian Stonechat, Saxicola maura, although it has a similar dumpy structure and upright stance. The male is black except for a white rump, wing patch and lower belly. The males of the race S. c. bicolor have vermiculated dark grey upperparts. This species is apparently fairly close to the European-African Stonechat complex (Wink et al., 2002).

The female has dark brown upperparts and rufous underparts and rump. She has no white wing patches. Juveniles are similar to females.

This species is insectivorous, and like other chats hunts from a prominent low perch.

[edit] References

• BirdLife International (2004). Saxicola caprata. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

• Grimmett, Richard; Inskipp, Carol, Inskipp, Tim & Byers, Clive (1999): Birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.. ISBN 0-691-04910-6

• Wink, M.; Sauer-Gürth, H. & Gwinner, E. (2002): Evolutionary relationships of stonechats and related species inferred from mitochondrial-DNA sequences and genomic fingerprinting. British Birds 95: 349-355. PDF fulltext

[edit] Gallery

Male at Sultanpur National Park in Gurgaon District of Haryana, India.	Male at Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India.	Male at Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India.	Male Pied Bushchat
Male at/ near Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India.