Ecological requirements, distribution, and population density of the European Stonechat <i>Saxicola rubicola</i> in a high mountain area of the central Apennines, Italy

The European Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) is generally considered a lowland breeder with exceptional occurrences in the mountainous areas of Italy and Greece. The occasional observation of a small but significant population of stonechat at 1850 m a.s.l. in the central Apennines led us to investigate the ecological requirements of the species in this high mountain area. Using the territory mapping method, we identified all breeding territories and their ecological characteristics. We found a close association between the stonechat and the prostrate shrub juniper Juniper communis ssp. alpina and discussed the structural similarity of this shrub with the natural heath and moorland habitat of the stonechat in Germany and Great Britain. The surprisingly high population densities found in this study compared to those of neighbouring lowland agricultural habitats suggest that heathland with prostrate shrubs is the original natural habitat of the stonechat wherever the climate permits, from sea level in northern Europe to 2000 m above sea level in Mediterranean countries. Preliminary results from a small sample area show that the mountain breeding stonechat has a long breeding season, from its arrival in early March until its departure in late October. We argue the role of the juniper heaths for shelter and food supply during and after the frequent snow showers in early spring. The association of the stonechat (and other species) with prostrate shrub lands indicates the importance of conserving this habitat in Italy, where the stonechat has recently been classified as endangered (EN) on the national red list. To this end, we recommend in-depth studies on the stonechat-prostrate shrub association in other high mountain areas in Italy and abroad, where, on the one hand, increasing industrialisation of agriculture and, on the other hand, vegetation encroachment due to abandonment of agro-pastoral activity lead to rapid habitat loss and seriously threaten the lowland populations of the stonechat.