Editing African stonechat

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = African stonechat
| image = Saxicola_torquatus_-South_Africa_-male-8_(3).jpg
| image_caption = Adult male in [[South Africa]]
| image_alt = Photo of a small sparrow-sized bird with a brown breast, black head, black back, and beige belly perched on a small tree branch
| image2 = African_stonechat_Female.jpg
| image2_caption = Adult female in [[Botswana]]
| image2_alt = Photo of a small sparrow-sized bird with a brown breast and belly and a darker-brown head and back perched on a small jutting piece of rock
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2020 |title=''Saxicola torquatus'' |page=e.T22710184A181614254 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22710184A181614254.en |access-date=6 March 2022}}</ref>
| taxon = Saxicola torquatus
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1766)
| synonyms = *''Muscicapa torquata'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1766}}
*''Pratincola pallidigula'' <small>Reichenow,&nbsp;1892</small>
*''Saxicola axillaris'' <small>(Shelley,&nbsp;1884)<ref name="Friedmann"/><!-- parentheses? --></small>
*''Saxicola torquata'' <small>(''[[lapsus]]'')</small>
}}
[[File:Saxicola_torquatus_axillaris,_Nanyuki,_Kenya.jpg|upright|thumb|alt=Photo of a small sparrow-sized bird with a white belly, black head and back, and a spot of orange-brown on its breast perched on an upward jutting of rock|Adult male ''S.&nbsp;t. axillaris'' from [[Kenya]]]]

The '''African stonechat''' or '''common stonechat'''<ref name=iucn/> ('''''Saxicola torquatus''''') is a [[species]] of the [[Old World flycatcher]] family (Muscicapidae), inhabiting [[sub-Saharan Africa]] and adjacent regions. Like the other [[chat (bird)|chat]]s, it was long assigned to the thrush family ([[Turdidae]]), to which the chats are [[convergent evolution|convergent]]. Its [[scientific name]] refer to its appearance and [[habitat]] and means "collared rock-dweller": ''Saxicola'' from [[Latin]] {{Lang|la|saxum}} ("rock") + ''{{Lang|la|incola}}'' ("one who dwells in a place"), ''{{Lang|la|torquatus}}'', Latin for "[[Collar (clothing)|collared]]".

In the past ''S.&nbsp;torquatus'' usually referred to the entire "[[common stonechat]]" [[superspecies]] and some sources<ref>E.g. BLI (2008)</ref> still keep it that way, but all available evidence strongly supports full species status for the [[European stonechat|European]] (''S.&nbsp;rubicola'') and the [[Siberian stonechat]] (''S.&nbsp;maurus'') of [[temperate]] [[Eurasia]], in addition to the island-[[endemism|endemics]] [[Fuerteventura chat]] (''S.&nbsp;dacotiae'') and [[Réunion stonechat]] (''S.&nbsp;tectes'') which were never unequivocally accepted into ''S.&nbsp;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.<ref name=witt>Wittmann et al. (1995), Urquhart & Bowley (2002)</ref><ref>{{ cite journal | last1=Woog | first1=F. | last2=Wink | first2=M. | last3=Rastegar-Pouyani | first3=E. | last4=Gonzalez | first4=J. | last5=Helm | first5=B. | year=2008 | title=Distinct taxonomic position of the Madagascar stonechat (''Saxicola torquatus sibilla'') revealed by nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial DNA | journal=Journal of Ornithology | volume=149 | issue=3 | pages=423–430 | doi=10.1007/s10336-008-0290-1 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2008JOrni.149..423W }}</ref><ref name=wink>{{cite journal | last1=Wink | first1=M. | last2=Sauer-Gürth | first2=H. | last3=Gwinner | first3=E. | year=2002 | title=Evolutionary relationships of stonechats and related species inferred from mitochondrial-DNA sequences and genomic fingerprinting | journal=British Birds | volume=95 | pages=349–355 | url=https://britishbirds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/article_files/V95/V95_N07/V95_N07_P349_355_A004.pdf | access-date=2018-05-10 | archive-date=2022-06-11 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611095730/https://britishbirds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/article_files/V95/V95_N07/V95_N07_P349_355_A004.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Systematics and taxonomy==
In 1760, the French zoologist [[Mathurin Jacques Brisson]] included a description of the African Stonechat in his ''Ornithologie'' based on a specimen collected from the [[Cape of Good Hope]] in South Africa. He used the French name {{Lang|fr|Le gobe-mouche à collier du Cap de Bonne Espérance}} and the Latin ''Muscicapa Torquata Capitis Bonae Spei''.<ref name=brisson>{{ cite book | last=Brisson | first=Mathurin Jacques | author-link=Mathurin Jacques Brisson | year=1760 | title=Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés | volume=3 | language=fr, la | place=Paris | publisher=Jean-Baptiste Bauche | pages=379–380, Plate 36 fig 4 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36011691 }} The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen.</ref> Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial system]] and are not recognised by the [[International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature]].<ref name=allen>{{cite journal |last=Allen | first=J.A. | author-link=Joel Asaph Allen | year=1910 | title=Collation of Brisson's genera of birds with those of Linnaeus |journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History |volume=28 | pages=317–335 | hdl=2246/678 }}</ref> When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] updated his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' for the [[12th edition of Systema Naturae|twelfth edition]], he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson.<ref name=allen/> One of these was the African Stonechat. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the [[binomial name]] ''Muscicapa torquata'' and cited Brisson's work.<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  | place=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=la | page=328 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42946524 }}</ref> The [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]] is from Latin ''{{Lang|la|torquatus}}'' "collared".<ref name=hbwkey>{{cite web | last=Jobling | first=J.A. | year=2018 | title= Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J. | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Sargatal | editor3-first=J. | editor4-last=Christie | editor4-first=D.A. | editor5-last=de Juana | editor5-first=E. | work=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive | publisher=Lynx Edicions | url=https://www.hbw.com/dictionary/definition/torquatus | access-date=10 May 2018 }}</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>

The closest relative of this species are apparently not the [[Eurasia]]n populations but the [[Réunion stonechat]] (''S.&nbsp;tectes''), but still the "white-collared" ''Saxicola'' form a distinct group in the genus. ''S.&nbsp;torquatus'' and ''S.&nbsp;tectes'' form a [[sub-Saharan Africa]]n lineage that diverged from the Eurasian one in the [[Late Pliocene]], roughly 2.5 [[million years ago]]. Réunion was colonized shortly thereafter, indicating a rapid expansion along the [[Indian Ocean]] coast of Africa. With the [[Sahara]] drying out in the subsequent [[Quaternary glaciation]], the African and Eurasian populations became isolated for good.<ref name=wink/>

The recent separation as species was proposed after [[mtDNA]] [[cytochrome b|cytochrome ''b'']] [[DNA sequence|sequence]] and [[nDNA]] [[Microsatellite (genetics)|microsatellite]] [[DNA fingerprinting|fingerprinting]] analysis of specimens of the subspecies ''Saxicola torquatus axillaris'' but not ''S.&nbsp;t. torquatus'', and hence this species was briefly known as ''S.&nbsp;axillaris''.<ref name=wink/>

===Subspecies===
There are 16 recognised [[subspecies]].<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 C. Rasmussen | date=February 2025 | title=Chats, Old World flycatchers | work=IOC World Bird List Version 15.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/chats/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=7 March 2025}}</ref> They differ slightly in size, and more in the extent of the orange-red on the upper breast of the males, and whether the lower breast is white with a distinct boundary from the upper breast, or pale orange with an indistinct boundary from the darker upper breast. The extent of the orange-red also varies with time of year, often extending on to the belly outside the breeding season.<ref name = ub02 />
* ''S. t. felix'' [[George Latimer Bates|Bates]], 1936 – southwest Saudi Arabia and west Yemen
* ''S. t. albofasciatus'' Rüppell, 1840 – southeast Sudan and northeast Uganda to central Ethiopia
::upper breast black, not orange-red{{sfn|Clement|Rose|2015|pp=122-123, 484}}
* ''S. t. jebelmarrae'' [[Hubert Lynes|Lynes]], 1920 – east Chad and west Sudan
* ''S. t. moptanus'' Bates, 1932 – Senegal and south Mali
:The smallest subspecies.
* ''S. t. nebularum'' Bates, 1930 – Tropical West Africa from Sierra Leone to west Ivory Coast
:Extensive orange-red on breast and also flanks.
* ''S. t. axillaris'' ([[George Ernest Shelley|Shelley]], 1885) – east Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, north and west Tanzania
* ''S. t. promiscuus'' [[Ernst Hartert|Hartert]], 1922 – south Tanzania to east Zimbabwe and west Mozambique
:Very limited orange-red on uppermost part of breast only.
* ''S. t. salax'' ([[Jules Verreaux|Verreaux, J]] & [[Édouard Verreaux|Verreaux, E]], 1851) – east Nigeria to northwest Angola, [[Bioko Island]]
* ''S. t. stonei'' Bowen, 1931 – east and south Angola to southwest Tanzania south to north South Africa and Botswana
* ''S. t. clanceyi'' Courtenay-Latimer, 1961 – coastal west South Africa
* ''S. t. torquatus'' (Linnaeus, 1766) – central South Africa
* ''S. t. oreobates'' [[Phillip Clancey|Clancey]], 1956 – Lesotho
* ''S. t. voeltzkowi'' [[Hermann Grote|Grote]], 1926 – [[Grande Comore]]
* ''S. t. sibilla'' (Linnaeus, 1766) – [[Madagascar]] except north, central (Madagascar stonechat group)
* ''S. t. tsaratananae'' Milon, 1950 – north [[Madagascar]]  (Madagascar stonechat group)
* ''S. t. ankaratrae'' [[Finn Salomonsen|Salomonsen]], 1934 – central [[Madagascar]]  (Madagascar stonechat group)

The subspecies ''S. t. sibilla'', ''S. t. tsaratananae'' and ''S. t. ankaratrae'' have sometimes been considered as a separate species, the Madagascar stonechat.<ref name=ioc/>

==Description==

The males have a black head, a white half-collar, a black back, a white rump, and a black tail; the wings are black with a large white patch on the top side of the inner wing. The upper breast is usually dark orange-red, with a sharp or gradual transition to white or pale orange on the lower breast and belly depending on [[subspecies]]. In a few, black replaces the orange breast feathers in part or entirely.<ref name = ub02>Urquhart & Bowley (2002)</ref>

Females have brown rather than black above and on the head with an indistinct paler eyebrow line, chestnut-buff rather than orange below, and less white on the wings.  Both sexes' plumage is somewhat duller and streakier outside the breeding season.<ref name = ub02 />

==Distribution and habitat==
It has a scattered distribution across much of [[sub-Saharan Africa]], occurring locally as far north as [[Senegal]] and [[Ethiopia]]. Outlying populations are found the mountains of southwest [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]] and on [[Madagascar]] and [[Grande Comore]]. It is non-migratory, moving only locally if at all. As a result, it has developed much regional variation, being divided into 13 [[subspecies]].<ref name = ub02 />

==References==
{{Reflist | refs=
<ref name="Friedmann">{{cite book |last=Friedmann |first=Herbert |title=Birds Collected by the Childs Frick Expedition to Ethiopia and Kenya Colony, Bulletin 153, Part 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pv0SAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA146 |year=1937|location=Washington, DC |publisher=Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum|page=146|isbn=9780598369482 }}</ref>
}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* [[Rudyerd Boulton|Boulton, Rudyerd]] & Rand, A.L. (1952). A collection of birds from Mount Cameroon. ''[[Fieldiana Zoology|Fieldiana Zool.]]'' 34(5):35-64. [https://archive.org/details/collectionofbird345boul Fulltext] at the [[Internet Archive]]
*{{ cite book | last1=Clement | first1=Peter |last2=Rose | first2=Chris | year=2015 | title=Robins and Chats | series=Helm Identification Guides | place=London | publisher=Bloomsbury | isbn=978-0-7136-3963-6 }}
* Urquhart, Ewan & Bowley, Adam (2002). ''Stonechats. A Guide to the Genus Saxicola''. [[Helm Identification Guides|Christopher Helm]], London. <small>{{ISBN|0-7136-6024-4}}</small>
* Wittmann, U.; Heidrich, P.; Wink, M. & Gwinner, E. (1995). Speciation in the Stonechat (''Saxicola torquata'') inferred from nucleotide sequences of the cytochrome b-gene. ''Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research'' 33(2):116-122. <small>{{doi|10.1111/j.1439-0469.1995.tb00218.x}}</small> [https://archive.today/20130105062451/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119252016/abstract HTML abstract]
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*African stonechat - [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/596.pdf Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds].

{{portal bar|Birds|Animals}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1315689}}

[[Category:Saxicola]]
[[Category:Chats (birds)]]
[[Category:Birds of Africa]]
[[Category:Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1766]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]