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Blackstart - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by UlfL
Niamey, Niger, October 2007
Oenanthe melanura

Cercomela melanura

Identification

14–16 cm

  • Brownish-grey plumage (lighter underparts)
  • Black tail
  • Dark alula

Middle Eastern races have bluer plumage

Distribution

Photo © by A. Meir
Eilat, Israel, December 2007

North Africa, Middle East and Arabian Peninsula
Northern Africa: Egypt
Western Africa: Mali, Niger, Chad, Cameroon
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia
Middle East: Turkey, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 6 subspecies[1]:

  • O. m. ultima:
  • O. m. airensis:
  • O. m. lypura:
  • O. m. aussae:
  • O. m. melanura:
  • O. m. neumanni:

Habitat

Breeds in rocky deserts and mountains.

Behaviour

Resident. Not shy.

Movement

Often fans wings and tail when landing.

Breeding

It nests in a rock crevice the clutch consisting of 3–5 eggs.

Diet

The diet includes insects.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
  3. Avibase
  4. Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

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