The Whinchat

The Whinchat

Saxicola rubetra

Spotted in the hills whilst foraging for whinberries, this Summer visitor can be seen and heard now

LISTEN HERE

Photo by Liz Cutting  

Found in parts of  UK between April and October

Habitat: Meadows, moorland, open countryside with gorse and scrub

A stocky, small bird with a short tail. It hops or runs on the ground and can be seen perching on top of low bushes

With a prominent white stripe above its eye, with a streaky brown head and with an orange-buff breast

A Summer visitor and passage migrant in the UK. Birds breed in upland areas of Northern and Western Britain with a few in Ireland. It winders in Central and Southern Africa

Sadly Whinchat numbers have more than halved in Britain – the cause unknown