Saxicola rubicola
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
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.
The European stonechat was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Motacilla rubicola. This species is now placed in the genus Saxicola that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802. The English name derives from its call, sounding like two stones knocked together. The scientific name Saxicola means "rock-dweller", from Latin saxum meaning "a rock" and incola meaning "dwelling in". The specific epithet combines the Latin rubus meaning "brambles" with incola. The subspecies name hibernans refers to Ireland (Latin, Hibernia).
In the past, the European stonechat was generally considered conspecific with the Siberian stonechat and African stonechat... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 5 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 7 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 9 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 10 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 11 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 12 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 13 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 14 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 15 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 16 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 17 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 18 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 19 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 20 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 21 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 22 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a European Stonechat sighting in Pyrénées National Park on a given day, based on 512 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 51st most-seen of the 174 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–May and September
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a European Stonechat in Pyrénées National Park on a given day, against about 10% in June–August and October–March, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most European Stonechat sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
12th of 22
Of the 22 parks where we can rate European Stonechat sightings, Pyrénées National Park ranks 12th at about 10%. The best odds are in Kiskunság National Park (Hungary, about 60%), Doñana National Park (Spain, about 60%) and Monfragüe National Park (Spain, about 40%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the European Stonechat is recorded against all the birds logged in Pyrénées National Park (512 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
