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BTO Blueline
STONECHAT
Saxicola torquatus
 Stonechat © G H Higginbotham
 

• Population
  changes

• Productivity
  trends

• Additional
  information
Conservation listings
Europe: no SPEC category (favourable conservation status in Europe, not concentrated in Europe)
UK: amber (European status)
Long-term trend
UK: uncertain, possible decline
UK population size
9,000–23,000 pairs in 1990 (1988–91 Atlas: APEP06); 19,300–49,400 pairs in 2000 (updated using BBS trend: BiE04)
Status summary
Breeding atlas data showed a substantial contraction in the Stonechat's range between the early 1970s and late 1980s (Gibbons et al. 1993), but the species was not monitored sufficiently well before the start of the BBS for long-term numerical trends to be investigated. Abundance appears to be linked to severe winter weather, and suitable breeding habitat has become scarce and fragmented in many inland regions (Marchant et al. 1990). Clutch sizes have increased over the long term, and nest failure rates have fallen substantially. Since 1994, numbers have increased markedly, at least in England. Following similar increases widely across Europe, the species is now provisionally categorised as 'secure' (BirdLife International 2004). The UK amber listing rests on the earlier European decline, so a change to green may be warranted at the next review.
 

Population changes
BBS UK graph
 
BBS acknowledgement
 
BBS England graph
 

Productivity trends
 
Clutch size graph
Brood size graph
Egg nest failure graph
Chick nest failure graph
Laying date graph

 

 

Insufficient data on CES
available for this species
 

Additional information
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This report should be cited as:
Baillie, S.R., Marchant, J.H., Crick, H.Q.P., Noble, D.G., Balmer, D.E., Coombes, R.H.,
Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Joys, A.C., Leech, D.I., Raven, M.J., Robinson, R.A. and Thewlis, R.M. (2006)
Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2005.
BTO Research Report No. 435. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends)

Pages maintained by Susan Waghorn and Iain Downie: Last updated 2 May, 2006