Editing European stonechat (section)

==Taxonomy and systematics==
The European stonechat was [[Species description|formally described]] by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1766 in the [[12th edition of Systema Naturae|twelfth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' under the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Motacilla rubicola''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1766 | title=Systema naturae : per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | edition=12th | volume=1, Part 1 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii  | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | page=332 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42946528}}</ref> This species is now placed in the [[genus]] ''[[Saxicola]]'' that was introduced by the German naturalist [[Johann Matthäus Bechstein]] in 1802.<ref>{{cite book | last=Bechstein  | first=Johann Matthäus | author-link=Johann Matthäus Bechstein | year=1802 | title=Ornithologisches Taschenbuch von und für Deutschland, oder, Kurze Beschreibung aller Vögel Deutschlands für Liebhaber dieses Theils der Naturgeschichte | page=216 | place=Leipzig | publisher=Carl Friedrich Enoch Richter | language=de | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41098826 }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=January 2021 | title=Chats, Old World flycatchers | work=IOC World Bird List Version 11.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/chats/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=3 July 2021 }}</ref> 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''.<ref name =job>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A. | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher=Christopher Helm | location = London, United Kingdom | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages =[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n339 339], 349}}</ref> 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]], lumped together as [[common stonechat]] ''S. torquatus''. A 2002 study using [[mtDNA]] [[cytochrome b|cytochrome ''b'']] [[DNA sequence|sequences]] and nuclear DNA microsatellite fingerprinting evidence strongly supported their separation into distinct species.<ref name=Urquhart/><ref name=Wink/> Due to a misunderstanding of the rules of Zoological nomenclature, for a short time the name ''S. torquatus'' was erroneously used for the European stonechat rather than the African stonechat.<ref name=Wink/>

Together with the [[Siberian stonechat]] and [[Canary Islands stonechat]], the European stonechat constitutes eastern and western representatives of a [[Eurasia]]n lineage; the Asian and European populations separated during the [[Late Pliocene]] or [[Early Pleistocene]], roughly 1.5–2.5 [[mya (unit)|mya]], and [[Fuerteventura]] was colonised by western European or northwest African birds somewhat later in the Early Pleistocene, about 1–2 mya.<ref name=Wink/>

===Subspecies===
Two weakly defined [[subspecies]] are currently recognised:<ref name=ioc/><ref name=Urquhart/>

* ''S. r. hibernans'' ([[Ernst Hartert|Hartert, E]], 1910) – Northwestern Europe in [[Atlantic]] coastal areas, in southwestern Norway, Great Britain, Ireland and northwestern France. Birds in coastal Portugal are also often listed as this subspecies,<ref name=Urquhart/> but this is disputed.<ref name=Siddle>{{cite journal | last=Siddle | first=J.P. | year=2006 | title=Which subspecies of Common Stonechat breeds in coastal Portugal? | journal=British Birds | volume=99 | pages=372–374 | url=https://britishbirds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/article_files/V99/V99_N07/V99_N07_P372_375_L005.pdf | access-date=2021-07-03 | archive-date=2021-07-09 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182955/https://britishbirds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/article_files/V99/V99_N07/V99_N07_P372_375_L005.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref>
* ''S. r. rubicola'' ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1766) – In the south and east of its range, from Denmark southwest to Spain and Morocco, east to Poland and Ukraine, and southeast to Turkey. Winters in North Africa and the Middle East.