Saxicola maurus
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The Siberian stonechat or Asian stonechat (Saxicola maurus) is a recently validated species of the Old World flycatcher family (Muscicapidae). Like the other thrush-like flycatchers, it was often placed in the Turdidae in the past. It breeds in the East Palearctic including in easternmost Europe and winters in the Old World tropics.
The Siberian stonechat was formally described in 1773 as Muscicapa maura by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas based on a specimen collected at Karassum near the Ishim River in western Siberia. The specific epithet is from Latin maura meaning "African" or "Moorish" (i.e. "black" or "dark"). The Siberian stonechat is now placed in the genus Saxicola that was introduced in 1802 by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein. The genus name combines the Latin saxum, saxi meaning "stone" with -cola meaning "dweller" from colere meaning "to inhabit".
Six subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 4 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 6 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Langtang National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 12 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 13 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Hemis National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 15 | Gir National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 16 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 17 | Sundarbans National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vasai-Virar | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Shymkent | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | |
| 3 | Chattogram | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 4 | Kalyan-Dombivli | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Kathmandu | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 6 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 7 | Nashik | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Indore | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Almaty | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | |
| 10 | Bhopal | 🇮🇳 India |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Siberian Stonechat sighting in Almaty on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 26th most-seen of the 73 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Siberian Stonechat in Almaty on a given day, against under 5% in July, the lowest month. That is one of Almaty's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain against 75 mm in April.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Siberian Stonechat sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
9th of 58
Of the 58 cities where we can rate Siberian Stonechat sightings, Almaty ranks 9th at about 10%. The best odds are in Vasai-Virar (India, about 50%), Shymkent (Kazakhstan, about 40%) and Chattogram (Bangladesh, about 30%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the Siberian Stonechat that you can see in Almaty (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are Blue Whistling-Thrush (about 20%), Rufous-backed Redstart (about 10%) and Bluethroat (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Siberian Stonechat is recorded against all the birds logged in Almaty (14 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
