Fuerteventura Chat
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| Saxicola dacotiae (Meade-Waldo, 1889) |
The Fuerteventura Chat (Saxicola dacotiae) is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It, and similar small European species, are often called chats.
It is resident and restricted to the island of Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands, where it is restricted to ravines and slopes with sparse, shrubby vegetation (Illera et al., 2006). The subspecies murielae from the Chinijo Archipelago became extinct in the early 20th century, probably due to deteriorating habitat quality.
The Fuerteventura Chat is similar in size to the European Robin. Both sexes have a dark rump and tail.
In summer the male has dark brownish upperparts, orange throat and black head. It has strong white neck sides and a white supercilium. The appearance is like a cross between Whinchat and Stonechat. The female has paler brown upperparts and head, and no white neck patches.
The male has a clicking call and high twittering song like a Stonechat.
Other members of the genus include
- Whinchat, Saxicola rubetra
- European Stonechat, Saxicola rubicola
- Siberian Stonechat, Saxicola maura
- African Stonechat, Saxicola torquata
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Saxicola dacotiae. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a range map, a brief justification of why this species is endangered, and the criteria used
- Illera, Juan Carlos ; Díaz, Mario & Nogales, Manuel (2006): Ecological traits influence the current distribution and range of an island endemic bird. J. Biogeogr. 33(7): 1192–1201. DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2006.01505.x (HTML abstract)
