---
title: "African Stonechat"
description: "Saxicola torquatus — Uccelli. The African stonechat or common stonechat (Saxicola torquatus) is a species of the Old World flycatcher family (Muscicapidae), inhabiting sub-Saharan Africa and adjacent regions."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/african-stonechat
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# African Stonechat

> Saxicola torquatus — Uccelli. The African stonechat or common stonechat (Saxicola torquatus) is a species of the Old World flycatcher family (Muscicapidae), inhabiting sub-Saharan Africa and adjacent regions.

- Scientific name: *Saxicola torquatus*
- Category: `birds` (Uccelli)
- Habitats: `savanna` (Savana)
- iNaturalist observations: 6344
- Wikidata: [Q1315689](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1315689)
- iNaturalist taxon: [55371](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/55371)

## Names

- en: African Stonechat
- de: Afrikanisches Schwarzkehlchen
- es: Tarabilla Africana
- fr: Tarier africain
- pt: Saxicola torquata
- pl: Kląskawka afrykańska

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (4642), MG (315), TZ (236), ZW (105), RW (102), KE (93), BW (86), UG (81), ZM (69), MW (58), ET (41), AO (40)

## Summary

The African stonechat or common stonechat (Saxicola torquatus) is a species of the Old World flycatcher family (Muscicapidae), inhabiting sub-Saharan Africa and adjacent regions. Like the other chats, it was long assigned to the thrush family (Turdidae), to which the chats are convergent. Its scientific name refer to its appearance and habitat and means "collared rock-dweller": Saxicola from Latin saxum ("rock") + incola ("one who dwells in a place"), torquatus, Latin for "collared".
In the past S. torquatus usually referred to the entire "common stonechat" superspecies and some sources still keep it that way, but…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_stonechat

## Photo

![African Stonechat](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/african-stonechat/medium.jpg)

Photo: Dave Brown · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/64684585

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/african-stonechat?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).