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Saxicola rubicola (S. torquata)
Known as European Stonechat, this sparrow-sized flycatcher belongs to Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. A male (portrayed here) sports an all blackish head, with a white semi-collar around the throat, and reddish orange breast, becoming paler, almost whitish, towards belly. Back and wing coverts are dark-brown to blackish, mottled.
Here, seen on a meadow in local marshland; (protected marshlands or Maraîs de Bidonne), in lowlands around lake Geneva (lac Leman), between Alps and Jura mountain ranges. The marshes itself are straight on Switzerland-France border...
Sorry for the poor quality of photos - this was my lifer, first time I recorded this bird, and I simply could not discard these shots. When shooting, I was totally against the light, and as usual with birds, had to shoot fast... Later on, I managed to salvage some shots and get out its colors by reducing shade etc; and hope that next time I'll have a wee bit more time for preparation...
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