Cotman watercolours tubes, Faber Castel Pastel pencils on Saunders Waterford 300gsm 310×230 Cotton Satiné High White paper

On a beautiful sunny, but still fresh evening in early April, I saw this male European stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) sitting on a lookout/singing post in the setting sun, apparently overlooking his domain. Occasionally, he flew into the air in a graceful fit to catch flying insects.

I thought this was such a beautiful image, that seemed like a very nice scene to paint. So I took a (beautiful) photo of it and used it as a reference photo for this painting! I am very satisfied with the result…

The male is beautifully colored, especially during the breeding season. He then has an almost black head, a beautiful, orange-colored chest that extends to the abdomen and white spots on the sides of the neck. The top is browner.

There was also a female nearby. It is much less conspicuously colored. The head is (light) brown instead of black and she has no white neck spots. The back is light brown, and the orange color is much less exuberant. Not so strange, so she is also less noticeable on the nest (which, by the way, is on the ground, well hidden).

European stonechats are migratory birds, but they usually don’t migrate that far. Southern Europe is the furthest. Some even stay in the Netherlands. Because they don’t go that far, they can stay long enough to raise up to 3 clutches a year.

A species that looks a lot like the European stonechat is the Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra). However, the Whinchat has a clear light eyebrow stripe and does not have a black throat.

📸 Own Photo (see my instagramaccount @ronmaliepaardnl or facebook or Nature blog))

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