Saxicola torquatus
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The African stonechat or common stonechat (Saxicola torquatus) is a species of the Old World flycatcher family (Muscicapidae), inhabiting sub-Saharan Africa and adjacent regions. Like the other chats, it was long assigned to the thrush family (Turdidae), to which the chats are convergent. Its scientific name refer to its appearance and habitat and means "collared rock-dweller": Saxicola from Latin saxum ("rock") + incola ("one who dwells in a place"), torquatus, Latin for "collared".
In the past S. torquatus usually referred to the entire "common stonechat" superspecies and some sources still keep it that way, but all available evidence strongly supports full species status for the European (S. rubicola) and the Siberian stonechat (S. maurus) of temperate Eurasia, in addition to the island-endemics Fuerteventura chat (S. dacotiae) and Réunion stonechat (S. tectes) which were never unequivocally accepted into S. torquatus. The Madagascar stonechat (S. t. sibilla) has sometimes been considered distinct. In addition, the well-marked populations of the Horn of Africa uplands may well qualify for an additional species.
In 1760, the French zoologist Mathurin... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antananarivo | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 3 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 4 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 7 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report an African Stonechat sighting in Volcanoes National Park on a given day, based on 273 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 14th most-seen of the 156 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report an African Stonechat in Volcanoes National Park on a given day, against about 20% in September, the lowest month. That is one of Volcanoes National Park's wettest months, with about 250 mm of rain against 20 mm in July.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African 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.
5th of 32
Of the 32 parks where we can rate African Stonechat sightings, Volcanoes National Park ranks 5th at about 50%. The best odds are in Golden Gate Highlands National Park (South Africa, about 70%), Mantadia National Park (Madagascar, about 50%) and Arusha National Park (Tanzania, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the African Stonechat that you can see in Volcanoes National Park (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher (about 50%), Cape Robin-Chat (about 50%) and African Dusky Flycatcher (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Stonechat is recorded against all the birds logged in Volcanoes National Park (273 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.
