Siberian Rubythroat

Overview
Siberian Rubythroat: Medium-sized thrush with olive-brown upperparts, bright red throat, gray breast and sides, and white belly. Head has white stripes above and below eyes. Wings and tail are olive-brown. Often cocks tail upward. Forages on ground for various insects and berries.

Range and Habitat
Siberian Rubythroat: Breeds throughout Asia and eastern Europe. Spends winters in southern Asia. Rare in North America but is an annual migrant through the western Aleutians and St. Lawrence Islands. Frequents open grasslands with scattered thickets.

The Siberian Rubythroat has a large range, estimated globally at 1,000,000 to 10,000,000 square kilometers. Native to Asia and vagrant to Europe and North America, this bird prefers forest, wetland, or shrubland ecosystems, though it can live in rural and urban areas as well as canals and drainage areas. The global population of this bird has not been precisely determined but does not show signs of decline that would necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of the Siberian Rubythroat is Least Concern.

INTERESTING FACTS
The Siberian Rubythroat was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It, and similar small European species, are often called chats. A group of thrushes are collectively known as a "hermitage" and a "mutation" of thrushes.