Whinchat migration Saxicola rubetra
▶ Follow the whinchat across the big globe
Press ▶ to play the year. Line: a simplified typical route, joining the main cluster of GBIF records in each month (adjusted for observer effort).
| Scientific name | Saxicola rubetra |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 22 cm |
| IUCN status | Least concern |
| Records mapped | 756,559 (GBIF) |
| GPS / geolocator tracks | none with an open licence yet |
Facts from Wikidata Q155869 (CC0).
When does the whinchat arrive in the UK?
A summer visitor in the records: sightings rise sharply from late April, are near their peak by late August, and fall away after mid October.
Bars: this species’ share of all UK bird records in GBIF (CC0/CC BY), by month, scaled to the peak month. Based on 34,243 UK records. Weekly counts from the GBIF occurrence search API (country=GB). Dates are read from records, not from a survey, so treat them as a guide.
When do they arrive in and leave the UK? →
Migration in the data
756,559 GBIF records (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 licences only) are mapped here, in 1.41° grid cells, month by month.
In Europe and Africa, the centre of the records (adjusted for observer effort) is furthest north in July (about 56°N) and furthest south in January (about 6°N).
Month by month: centre of records in Europe and Africa
| Month | Centre (latitude) | South of the Equator |
|---|---|---|
| January | 6°N | 9% |
| February | 8°N | 9% |
| March | 19°N | 7% |
| April | 39°N | 0% |
| May | 51°N | 0% |
| June | 56°N | 0% |
| July | 56°N | 0% |
| August | 52°N | 0% |
| September | 44°N | 0% |
| October | 36°N | 2% |
| November | 12°N | 9% |
| December | 6°N | 13% |
Tracked birds
No openly licensed (CC0 / CC BY) tracking data package for this species was found in the Movebank Data Repository yet, so only records are shown.
About the whinchat
The whinchat is a small migratory passerine bird breeding in Europe and western Asia and wintering in central Africa. At one time considered to be in the thrush family, Turdidae, it is now placed in the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. …
From the Wikipedia article “Whinchat” (revision 1375721097), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sources
GBIF occurrence records, licence CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, observations only (no specimens), filtered with: taxonKey=2492521&license=CC0_1_0&license=CC_BY_4_0&occurrenceStatus=PRESENT&hasGeospatialIssue=false&basisOfRecord=HUMAN_OBSERVATION&basisOfRecord=MACHINE_OBSERVATION&basisOfRecord=OBSERVATION. Monthly queries: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec. GBIF.org (23 October 2026) occurrence data accessed via the GBIF API; a GBIF download DOI is still to be added. Contributing datasets.