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Siberian Stonechat

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	Topics Siberian Stonechat Topic Home The Siberian Stonechat or Asian Stonechat (*Saxicola maura) is a member of the Old World flycatcherOld World flycatcher The Old World flycatcher* family Muscicapidae is a large family of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World.... family Muscicapidae. In the past, it was usually classified as a subspeciesSubspecies In zoology, as in other branches of biology, subspecies is the rank immediately subordinate to a species.... of the "Common Stonechat" (as Saxicola torquata maura), but analysis of mtDNA cytochrome bCytochrome b Overview Cytochrome b/b6 is main subunit of transmembrane cytochrome bc1 and b6f complexes.... sequenceDNA sequence A DNA sequence or genetic sequence is a succession of letters representing the primary structure of a real or hypothet... and nDNA microsatelliteMicrosatellite Microsatellites, or Simple Sequence Repeats , are polymorphic loci present in nuclear DNA that consist of repeating u... fingerprinting data, though rather weakly supported, together with other evidence confirms the suspicion that the present bird is a distinct speciesSpecies In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity.... (Urquhart & Bowley 2002). Together with the European species, it constitutes eastern and western representatives of an EurasiaEurasia Eurasia is the landmass composed of Europe and Asia.... n lineage; they separated during the Late Pliocene or Early PleistoceneEarly Pleistocene Early Pleistocene is a stage of the Pleistocene Epoch.... , roughly 1.5-2.5 myaMya (unit) In astronomy, geology, and paleontology, mya or "m.y.a." is an acronym for million years ago.... (Wink et al. 2002). The Siberian Stonechat is migratory and insectivorous. It breeds in open rough scrubland and rough grassland with scattered shrubShrub A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree b... s. The breeding range covers most of temperate AsiaAsia Asia is the largest and most populous continent or region, depending on the definition.... , from about 71°N latitude in SiberiaSiberia Siberia is a vast region of Russia constituting almost all of Northern Asia.... , south to the Himalaya and southwest ChinaChina China is a cultural region and ancient civilization in East Asia.... , and west to eastern TurkeyTurkey Summary Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Sou... and the Caspian SeaCaspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the largest lake on Earth by both area and volume, with a surface area of 371,000 square kilometres and ... area. It also breeds in the far northeast of EuropeEurope Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth.... , mainly in RussiaRussia Russia , also the Russian Federation , is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of Eurasia.... , but occasionally as far west as FinlandFacts About Finland The Republic of Finland , is one of the Nordic countries.... . The wintering range is from southern JapanJapan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of China, Korea, and Russia, stretching from... south to ThailandThailand The Kingdom of Thailand is a country in Southeast Asia, bordering Laos and Cambodia to the east, the Gulf of Thailand and Ma... and IndiaIndia India , officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia.... , and west to northeast AfricaFacts About Africa Africa is one of the greatest sized continents of the Earth.... . On migration, small numbers reach as far west as western Europe, and exceptionally as far east as AlaskaAlaska Alaska is a U.S. state, located on the northwest tier of North America.... in North AmericaNorth America North America is a continent in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost fully in the western hemisphere.... . It resembles the closely related European StonechatFacts About European Stonechat The European Stonechat Saxicola rubicola is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush f... , but is typically paler, with a white rump and whiter underparts with less orange on the breast, and with distinctly longer primary feathers in the wing. In this last feature it more closely resembles the WhinchatWhinchat Overview The Whinchat, Saxicola rubetra, is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Tur... , both being adapted to long-distance migrationBird migration Long-distance land bird migrationMany species of land migratory birds migrate very long distances, the most common pattern being ... . The summer male has black upperparts, lacking the brownish tones of the European Stonechat, a conspicuous white collar, white scapular patch and white rump, a restricted orange throat and black head. The female has pale brown upperparts and head, and white neck patches (not a full collar) and a pale, unstreaked pinkish-yellow rump. The male has a clicking call like stones knocking together. The song is high and twittering like a DunnockDunnock The Dunnock, Prunella modularis, is a small passerine bird found throughout temperate Europe and into Asia.... . There are five or six subspecies, with S. m. maura (described above) and the very similar S. m. stejnegeri (doubtfully distinct from S. m. maura) across northern and central Asia, and the more distinct southern races S. m. variegata (west of the Caspian Sea), S. m. armeniaca (eastern Turkey to IranIran 'Throughout history, Iran has been of great geostrategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia.... ), S. m. indica (Himalaya) and S. m. przewalskii (southwest China) being distinguished by larger white areas on the plumage. Further reading Identification Robertson, Iain (1977) Identification and European status of eastern Stonechats British BirdsBritish Birds (magazine) *British Birds* is a monthly ornithology journal, founded in 1907.... 70:237-245 Stoddart, Andy (1992) Identification of Siberian Stonechat Birding WorldBirding World Summary *Birding World* is a monthly birding journal published in the United Kingdom.... 5(9):348-356 Gallery