A dumpy chat, a little smaller than a robin, the whinchat has quite a big head and a short tail. It can frequently be seen sitting on fence posts or small bushes, making a soft clicking call. Whinchats inhabit open meadows and wasteland, wet habitats and dry heath. They are summer and passage migrants, wintering in Africa.
How to identify
Generally paler than the similar stonechat, the whinchat has a distinctive pale eyestripe and a pale throat. Males are streaky brown above, with an orange chest, but females are paler. Whinchats have pale patches at the base of the tail, while stonechat tails are completely dark.
Did you know?
Whin is another name for gorse which is often found in the habitats that whinchats breed in.
