STONECHAT
This beautiful bird is 110 to 130mm long and is slightly smaller than the European robin. The male has black upperparts, a black head, and an orange throat and breast. The white sides to the neck help identification as well as the white patches on the upper wing, which are seen in flight. The females have brown upperparts and head, but no white neck patches. They both have short wings and a chunky, stocky appearance.
Heaths, coastal dunes and rough grasslands scattered with small shrubs, bramble or gorse are perfect for stonechats. You will often see them perched on the top of vegetation or wires, watching for prey. Stonechats start breeding from 1 years old and choose different partners each year. The female makes the nest, a loose, unwoven cup of dried grass, lined with hair and feathers. 4 to 6 eggs are laid and incubated for 14 days by the female. Both parents raise the chicks. Stonechats can raise 2 to 3 broods a season.
