Stonechat - St. Lawrence Island, Alaska

On 2 September Paul Lehman reported an ABA Code-4 Stonechat (Saxicola torquatus) from Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska.  It was photographed and represents the third fall record from that location.

Although the sixth edition of the Clements Checklist split Stonechat into three species, European Stonechat, African Stonechat, and Siberian Stonechat, they are currently treated again as one species, Stonechat.   The maura group includes 6 subspecies from eastern Siberia, eastern Russia, and the mountains of eastern Turkey to Transcaucasia and Iran. Together they are often called “Siberian” Stonechat (ABA Checklist, Seventh Edition, Pranty et al.).  All ABA Area records are of birds from the maura group and birds that have been collected are examples of the easternmost subspecies, T. t. stejnegeri(Gibson and Kessel).

The first North American record of Stonechat was found, not in Alaska, but at Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick on 1 October 1983, where it was photographed and showed characteristics of the maura group (American Birds 40:16-17).