Whinchat

(Saxicola rubetra)

Category of conservation concern (IUCN, 2020) – Least Concern

Population size: 2 500 – 5 000 pairs

Distribution pattern

With population in mountainous areas and in the plains. The much larger mountainous population has a patchy distribution, covering the highest parts of the mountains Rila, Pirin, Western Rhodopes, Western and Central Stara Planina, Vitosha, Slavyanka, Belasitsa, Osogovo Mountain and Sredna Gora. The smaller numbers of the species breeding in the plains has a dispersed distribution with isolated nesting grounds in the low mountains (Eastern Stara Planina, Eastern Rhodopes, Ograzhden, etc.) and in the plains (the Danubian plain with Dobrudzha, the Thracian Plain, the Burgas lowlands, etc.).

Comparative distribution of the species compared to the first breeding birds atlas (Iankov, 2007): Breeding locality until 2007 | Breeding locality until 2007, confirmed after 2015 – | New breeding locality after 2015. – The breeding localities after 2015 are identified on a base of raw data from smartbirds.org.

Habitats

Breeds mainly in alpine and subalpine grass communities, and the pairs inhabiting the lower parts – in mesophilic grass communities, grass communities on wet terrains. Rarely found in crops and other grasses and wastelands.

Trends in population changes for the period 2013-2020

Not analysed

Threats

Not analysed