Stonechat Saxicola torquata

Handsome heathland bird, breeding along the Inner Thames

Habitat: generally heathland, but in Essex estuary marshland

Once common resident throughout Britain but now very localised, breeding mainly in the south and west

Plump round-headed bird with black head in m, grey-brown in f; white rump and wing patches in flight; 12–13 cm

Perches openly on top of bushes or on wires, before pouncing on its prey on the ground

Feeds mainly on insects, some worms and spiders

Nest is a cup of moss, grass and hair close to ground

2, sometimes 3, broods April to June; 5–6 light blue eggs, freckled brown

Once thought to be sedentary, they are now believed to move elsewhere for the winter, probably to other coastal sites