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Desert Wheatear - BirdForum Opus

Revision as of 23:34, 18 October 2016 by Deliatodd-18346 (talk | contribs) (References updated)
Photo by vdrtol
Ijmuiden, the Netherlands, September 2005
Oenanthe deserti

Identification

14.5-15.5 cm.
Male

  • Buff above
  • White below
  • Buff hue to breast
  • Black face, throat and shoulders
  • White superciliary stripe
  • Tail is nearly all black, giving appearance of only a white rump (similar Wheatears have mostly white tails with black band)

Female

Photo by ammadoux
Desert patch in the college, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, December 2011 , December 2011
  • Greyer upperparts
  • More buff underparts
  • Throat not black

Distribution

Breeds across North-West Africa from north Mauritania to central Tunisia, north-east Libya and Cyrenaica, in northern Egypt and Sinai. In the Middle East breeds in south Syria, north-west Iraq and north-east Jordan and in Israel and adjacent western Jordan, and also in northern Saudi Arabia. Recently discovered breeding in southern Turkey. Outside the Western Palearctic region breeds across Asia to northern China.

Partially or fully migratory, some populations resident. Northernmost birds tend to be more migratory and winter range extends from Sahara to the Horn of Africa, and from Arabia to north-west India.

Fairly frequent vagrant outside normal range recorded north to Britain, France and Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Scandinavia, most European Mediterranean countries (annual on Sicily) and also Spain, Portugal, Madeira and the Canary Islands.

British records (132 up to the end of 2012) are well scattered from Shetland to Scilly but the majority on the east and south coasts, recorded in most months but peaks in March-April and September-November; there have been several instances of birds overwintering.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Four races are recognised but field separation is difficult[1]

  • North African race homochroa is most distinctive with pale sandy-coloured plumage
  • atrogularis from Transcaucasia is browner with more extensive black throat
  • Middle Eastern deserti in Levant is intermediate
  • oreophila is found from western China to Kashmir and Tibet; wintering to Pakistan and north-eastern Africa

Habitat

Breeds on dry, sandy steppe-like heath or in semi-desert with scattered bushes, low vegetation and rocks (but shuns pure sand desert).

Sandy or stony plains and steppes and semi-desert with scrub, often in areas of abandoned cultivation. In winter often coastal areas. Vagrants often occur around reservoirs.

Behaviour

Short-distance migrant.

Diet

Food insects.

Breeding

Nests in hole in ground or in rock crevice.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Wikipedia

Recommended Citation

External Links


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