Amur Stonechat

Amur Stonechat

Saxicola stejnegeri

Silhouette: PhyloPic

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Beijing

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%

539 Verified sightings at Beijing
566 In all 6 parks From 2019 to 2026
September Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Amur Stonechat

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 →

Sounds

Song0:14

Japan · 2026

© Ding Li Yong · XC1139053 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Alarm call0:19

Japan · 2025

© Uku Paal · XC1016813 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:31

China · 2019

© Geoff Carey · XC745485 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Nikko National Park 🇯🇵 Japan
~30%
2 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
3 Cuc Phuong National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~10%
4 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
5 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
<5%
6 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Đà Nẵng 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~50%
2 Quanzhou 🇨🇳 China
~30%
3 Hanoi 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~30%
4 Nanchang 🇨🇳 China
~20%
5 Tuen Mun 🇨🇳 China
~20%
6 Nanning 🇨🇳 China
~10%
7 Shantou 🇨🇳 China
~10%
8 Guangzhou 🇨🇳 China
~10%
9 Xiuying District 🇨🇳 China
~10%
10 Phnom Penh 🇰🇭 Cambodia
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Amur Stonechat in Beijing?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Amur Stonechat sighting in Beijing on a given day, based on 539 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 79th most-seen of the 324 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an Amur Stonechat in Beijing?

September

In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Amur Stonechat in Beijing on a given day, against under 5% in June–July and November–March, the lowest months. That is one of Beijing's wettest months, with about 65 mm of rain against almost none in January.

What time of day is best to see an Amur Stonechat?

Between 2 and 5 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Amur Stonechat sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Beijing the best place to see an Amur Stonechat?

11th of 30

Of the 30 cities where we can rate Amur Stonechat sightings, Beijing ranks 11th at about 10%. The best odds are in Đà Nẵng (Vietnam, about 50%), Quanzhou (China, about 30%) and Hanoi (Vietnam, about 30%).

Which relatives of the Amur Stonechat live in Beijing?

Same family: Muscicapidae

The closest relatives of the Amur Stonechat that you can see in Beijing (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are Taiga Flycatcher (about 20%) and Daurian Redstart (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Amur Stonechat sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Amur Stonechat is recorded against all the birds logged in Beijing (539 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.

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