| Abyssinian wheatear | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Muscicapidae |
| Genus: | Oenanthe |
| Species: | O. lugubris |
| Binomial name | |
| Oenanthe lugubris (Rüppell, 1837) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The Abyssinian wheatear (Oenanthe lugubris), or Abyssinian black wheatear, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae, the Old World flycatchers and chats. It is found from Ethiopia to southern Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania.
The Abyssinian wheatear was first formally described in 1837 as Saxicola lugubris by the German naturalist and explorer Eduard Rüppell with its type locality given as "the rocky valleys of the Abyssinian province of Simien, and on the volcanic hills around Gondar" (Vorkommen in der felsigen Thälern der Abyssinischen provinz Simen, und auf der vulkanischen Hügeln um Gondar). [1] It is regarded, by some authorities, as being the same species as the mourning wheatear (Oenanthe lugens) of Northern Africa and the Middle East [2] but the I.O.C. regard it as a valid species. [3] The Abyssinian wheatear is regarded as closely related to the Arabian wheatear (Oenanthe lugentoides), which has also been regarded as being the same species as the mourning wheatear. These species may form a species complex. [4]
The I.O.C. recognises the following subspecies: [3] [5]
Schalow's wheatear (O. l. schalowi) from the highlands of southern Kenya and northeastern Tanzania is regarded as a valid species by some authorities [8] but the I.O.C. has pended its endorsement of this position while it waits for the results of genetic studies to be published. [3] O. l. vauriei is found in northeastern Somalia. [9]
The Abyssinian wheatear is a dark wheatear which shows sexual dichromatism, with the males being darker than the females. The males have black upperparts, throat and breast and a grey cap with darker streaks. The colour of the belly varies, both within individuals and geographic populations, from white to black. The females are mainly dark brown with heavy streaking on their paler breast and belly. Both males and females have buff under tail coverts, and the tail has a black inverted T pattern on a buff background, best seen in flight. [10] The length of the nominate subspecies is 14 cm (5.5 in). [11]
The three subspecies of Abyssinian wheatear vary as follows:
The Abyssinian wheatear is found in northeastern Africa, from Eritrea and northwestern Somalia south to northeastern Tanzania. The subspecies schalowi occurs in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania, while vauriei in eastern Somalia, and they both have disjunct ranges from the nominate subspecies of Eritrea, Ethiopia, and northwestern Somalia. [2] This bird occurs in rocky areas where there are some trees and bushes. [10]
Abyssinian wheatears are normally solitary outside their breeding season, and in the breeding season, they are typically encountered in pairs. They are generally unafraid of humans and perch in plain sight on rocks, boulders, and shrubs. They may be inactive and shelter during midday. Their diet is mainly invertebrates, caught by dropping on them from a perch or by foraging on the ground. They will also eat fruit, such as berries. [4]
The Abyssinian wheatear breeds from the early spring to late summer (March to August) in Ethiopia and Eritrea, in April and May in Somalia, from April to July in the Kenyan Great Rift Valley, and in March in northern Tanzania. The males display by adopting an upright stance with their heads raised before hopping around the female with droopy, quivering wings, interrupted by quick chases of the female in flight. The female makes the nest in the form of a loose cup with a flat top of the grass and other plant material, lined with softer material such as moss or mammal hair. There may be a small platform of stones either at the entrance to the nest, under it, or around it. The nest is typically situated in a crevice or hole with a maximum depth of 45 cm (18 in). This may be among rocks, on cliffs, in stone walls, on the banks of a river, or side of a wadi. They are double-brooded, and each clutch is 5 to 6 eggs. The juveniles from the first brood have been recorded bringing food to the nestlings of the 2nd brood in Schalow's wheatear. [4]
Abyssinian wheatears are largely resident, with some post-breeding dispersal. The subspecies vauriei disappears from its eastern Somali breeding areas from June to January and may migrate to lower altitudes when not breeding. [4]
The wheatears are passerine birds of the genus Oenanthe. They were formerly considered to be members of the thrush family, Turdidae, but are now more commonly placed in the flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. This is an Old World group, but the northern wheatear has established a foothold in eastern Canada and Greenland and in western Canada and Alaska.
The isabelline wheatear is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher in the family Muscicapidae. It is a migratory insectivorous bird. Its habitat is steppe and open countryside and it breeds in southern Russia and Central Asia to northern Pakistan, wintering in Africa and northwestern India. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.
The desert wheatear is a wheatear, a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscicapidae). It is a migratory insectivorous species, 14.5 to 15 cm in length. Both western and eastern forms of the desert wheatear are rare vagrants to western Europe. The western desert wheatear breeds in the Sahara and the northern Arabian peninsula. The eastern race is found in the semi-deserts of Central Asia and in winter in Pakistan and northeast Africa.
The western black-eared wheatear is a wheatear, a small migratory passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher. It was formerly considered conspecific with the eastern black-eared wheatear.
The pied wheatear is a wheatear, a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher. This migratory central Asiatic wheatear occurs from the extreme southeast of Europe to China, and has been found wintering in India and northeastern Africa. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.
The yellow-legged buttonquail is a buttonquail, one of a small family of birds which resemble, but are unrelated to, the true quails. This family is peculiar in that the females are larger and more colourful than the males and are polyandrous.
The chestnut-bellied sandgrouse or common sandgrouse is a species of sandgrouse. It is a sedentary and nomadic species that ranges from northern and central Africa and further east towards western and southern Asia. There are six recognised subspecies.
The white-headed buffalo weaver or white-faced buffalo-weaver is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to East Africa. The buffalo part of its name derives from its habit of following the African buffalo, feeding on disturbed insects. Two subspecies are recognized.
The red-rumped wheatear or buff-rumped wheatear is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in North Africa and the Middle East.
The Kurdish wheatear, also known as the Kurdistan wheatear, the chestnut-rumped wheatear or the red-rumped wheatear, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. The red-tailed wheatear was formerly considered a subspecies of this bird but is now often regarded as a separate species. The two may intergrade in Iran but it is also possible that the rather differently coloured cummingi is in fact a one-year-old O. xanthoprymna with intermediate plumage.
The red-tailed wheatear, also known as the rusty-tailed wheatear, Persian wheatear or Afghan wheatear, is a small passerine bird breeding in mountainous areas of south-west and central Asia. It belongs to the wheatear genus Oenanthe which was formerly placed in the thrush family Turdidae but is now in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. The red-tailed wheatear used to be considered a subspecies of the Kurdish wheatear but is now often regarded as a separate species.
Heuglin's wheatear is a small passerine bird in the wheatear genus Oenanthe.
Sharpe's rosefinch is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in central China and far northern Myanmar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the spot-winged rosefinch.
The eastern black-eared wheatear is a wheatear, a small migratory passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher. It was formerly considered conspecific with the western black-eared wheatear.
The black bishop is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to Africa south of the Sahara. Three subspecies are recognised.
The Atlas wheatear, also known as the black-throated wheatear or Seebohm's wheatear, is a small passerine bird which breeds in the Maghreb region of North Africa and winters in the western Sahel. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the northern wheatear as O. o. seebohmi, but was reclassified as a distinct species by the IOC in 2021.