Grey Bush Chat (Saxicola ferreus)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Grey Bush Chat

Saxicola ferreus Gray, JE & Gray, GR, 1847

≈14 cmLength15 gWeight

This small bird often perches on wires or fences.

Busiest months: February · Most records: India, Thailand, China

Least Concern

How to identify

Where and when it's recorded

Grey Bush Chat has been recorded at 479 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 13 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Wildlife Institute of IndiaIndia1,546 records
  2. Doi Pha Hom Pok NP – Doi Lang (W), AKA Doi San JuThailand1,148 records
  3. SattalIndia928 records
More places
  1. Forest Research Institute (FRI), New Forest CampusIndia888 records
  2. Corbett NP – DhikalaIndia566 records
  3. Doi Pha Hom Pok NP – Doi AngkhangThailand558 records
  4. PangotIndia516 records
  5. Doi Pha Hom Pok NP – Doi Lang (W) stakeout Mrs Hume's Pheasant [ARRIVE BEFORE SUNRISE & WAIT IN THE CAR ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RD.]Thailand481 records
  6. Doi Inthanon NPThailand428 records
  7. Asan Conservation ReserveIndia398 records

Countries and regions with the most records

IndiaThailandChinaVietnamNepalBhutanMyanmar (Burma)Pakistan

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The grey bush chat (Saxicola ferreus) is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in the Himalayas, southern China, Taiwan (China), Nepal and mainland Southeast Asia.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Grey Bush Chat?

The Grey Bush Chat is about ≈14 cm long and weighs around 15 g.

Where does the Grey Bush Chat live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: Himalayas to central, southern China and central Vietnam. It is most often recorded in India, Thailand and China.

When is the best time to see the Grey Bush Chat?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in February (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Grey Bush Chat endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Grey Bush Chat as Least Concern.

What does the Grey Bush Chat eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Grey Bush Chat in?

It belongs to the family Chats, Old World Flycatchers (Muscicapidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length
≈14 cm
Weight
15 g
Habitat
Shrubland
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Perches in trees
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
66 mm
Tail
59 mm
Bill
14 mm
Tarsus
21 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Oriental: Himalayas to central, southern China and central Vietnam

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 1
  • Saxicola ferreus haringtoni c, s China | non-breeding: se China and s Indochina

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Chats, Old World Flycatchers Muscicapidae
Genus
Saxicola

Other birds in the genus Saxicola

Jerdon's Bush ChatJerdon's Bush ChatSaxicola jerdoniWhinchatWhinchatSaxicola rubetraWhite-browed Bush ChatWhite-browed Bush ChatSaxicola macrorhynchusWhite-bellied Bush ChatWhite-bellied Bush ChatSaxicola gutturalisPied Bush ChatPied Bush ChatSaxicola caprataWhite-throated Bush ChatWhite-throated Bush ChatSaxicola insignisWhite-tailed StonechatWhite-tailed StonechatSaxicola leucurusAmur StonechatAmur StonechatSaxicola stejnegeriAfrican StonechatAfrican StonechatSaxicola torquatusReunion StonechatReunion StonechatSaxicola tectesSiberian StonechatSiberian StonechatSaxicola maurusEuropean StonechatEuropean StonechatSaxicola rubicola
Grey Bush Chat

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by J.M.Garg. ↗

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