BTO - Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside: Whinchat

WHINCHAT
Saxicola rubetra

Conservation listings

Unlisted/Green
Biodiversity Steering Group Conservation Concern List

Long-term trend

UK: Uncertain, possible decline

Status summary

The Whinchat's preferred habitats were not covered well by BTO surveys before the advent of the BBS, which shows no clear temporal trend since 1994. There has also been no clear trend in breeding performance except for an increase in average clutch size. However, Gibbons et al. (1993) identified a range contraction from lowland England that was probably due to the loss of marginal farmland habitats.

Table of population changes for Whinchat

Source Period
(yrs) Years Plots
(n) Change
(%) Lower
limit Upper
limit Alert Comment

BBS UK 6 1994-2000 80 -21 -39 2

BBS England 6 1994-2000 31 -22 -45 11 Small sample

BBS Scotland 6 1994-2000 32 -28 -61 34 Small sample

The Breeding Bird Survey is jointly funded by BTO, JNCC and RSPB

Table of productivity information for Whinchat

Variable Period
(yrs) Years Mean
annual
sample Trend Predicted
in first year Predicted
in last year Change Comment

Clutch size 31 1968-1999 13 Linear increase 5.41 eggs 5.71 eggs 0.3 eggs Small sample

Brood size 31 1968-1999 43 None

Daily failure rate (eggs) 31 1968-1999 16 Linear increase 0.0058 nests/day 0.0197 nests/day 0.0139 nests/day Small sample

Daily failure rate (chicks) 31 1968-1999 28 None Small sample

Laying date 31 1968-1999 31 Curvilinear day 148 day 145 -3 days

Insufficient data on CES
available for this species

Wider Countryside Home | BTO Home | JNCC Home

This report should be cited as:
Baillie, S.R., Crick, H.Q.P., Balmer, D.E., Beaven, L.P., Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Leech, D.I., Marchant, J.H.,
Noble, D.G., Raven, M.J., Simpkin, A.P., Thewlis, R.M. and Wernham, C.V. (2002) Breeding Birds in the Wider
Countryside: their conservation status 2001. BTO Research Report No. 278. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends)

Terms and Conditions of use
Privacy Statement

© British Trust for Ornithology
BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU, UK. Registered Charity Number 216652
Tel: +44 (0)1842 750050 Fax: +44 (0)1842 750030 Email:
This page last updated: 21 April, 2008

Page created by Susan Waghorn