Kurdish wheatear

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Kurdish wheatear
SaxicolaCummingiGronvold.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
Genus: Oenanthe
Species:
O. xanthoprymna
Binomial name
Oenanthe xanthoprymna

The Kurdish wheatear [2] (Oenanthe xanthoprymna), 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 (O. chrysopygia) was formerly considered a subspecies of this bird but is now often regarded as a separate species. The two may intergrade in Iran ("O. x. cummingi") but it is also possible that the rather differently coloured cummingi is in fact a one-year-old O. xanthoprymna with intermediate plumage. [3]

Contents

Description

The Kurdish wheatear is about 14 centimetres (5.5 in) in length. The top of the head and the nape of the male are pale grey, separated by a white eye stripe from the black face and throat. The back is brownish grey and the underparts white or buff. The wings are charcoal with no white streak, the flight feathers being edged with brown. The flanks and under-tail coverts are orange and the tail white at the base with a dark terminal band. The female has similar markings but the colours are more muted and the dark face and throat replaced by a grey eye patch. The orange rump and tail coverts are particularly noticeable in the winter when the male is in flight. [4]

Call

The call note is a harsh chack-chack-chack. The song is similar to that of the northern wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) and is a rather squeaky warble.

Diet

The Kurdish wheatear mainly eats ants and other small insects.

Reproduction

The nest is built among rocks, in a crevice, in scree or under a boulder. It is basin-shaped and lined with wool, hair and dead grasses. Four or five eggs are laid. They are bluish-white with a few chestnut brown speckles.

Distribution and habitat

The breeding range of the Kurdish wheatear covers the Middle East, south-east Turkey, northern Iraq, western Iran, and parts of the former USSR. It moves southwards in winter to southern Iran, the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and north-east Somalia [3] and occasionally to north west India. [5] It is unclear whether all populations migrate or whether some birds just move down to lower altitudes for the winter. Its preferred habitat is heathland, open hillsides and scrubby, semi-desert regions. [4] It is listed as being of "least concern" in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because of its very large range. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheatear</span> Genus of birds

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isabelline wheatear</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desert wheatear</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western black-eared wheatear</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pied wheatear</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern wheatear</span> Species of bird

The northern wheatear or 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, Muscicapidae. It is the most widespread member of the wheatear genus Oenanthe in Europe and North and Central Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black wheatear</span> Species of bird

The black wheatear is a wheatear, a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is found in southern Spain and western North Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pin-tailed sandgrouse</span> Species of bird

The pin-tailed sandgrouse is a medium large bird in the sandgrouse family. It has a small, pigeon like head and neck and a sturdy, compact body. It has long pointed wings, which are white underneath, a long tail and a fast direct flight. Flocks fly to watering holes at dawn. The call is a loud kattar-kattar. This gregarious species breeds on dry open treeless plains and similar habitats. Its nest is a ground scrape into which two or three cream-coloured eggs with cryptic markings are laid. Both sexes incubate the eggs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hooded wheatear</span> Species of bird

The hooded wheatear is a wheatear, a small insectivorous passerine 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finsch's wheatear</span> Species of bird

Finsch's wheatear is a wheatear, a small insectivorous passerine that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher of the family Muscicapidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capped wheatear</span> Species of bird

The capped wheatear is a small insectivorous passerine bird that is widely distributed over southern Africa. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now placed in the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-rumped wheatear</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Variable wheatear</span> Species of bird

The variable wheatear is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-tailed wheatear</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heuglin's wheatear</span> Species of bird

Heuglin's wheatear is a small passerine bird in the wheatear genus Oenanthe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abyssinian wheatear</span> Species of bird

The Abyssinian wheatear, or Abyssinian black wheatear, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found from Ethiopia to southern Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern black-eared wheatear</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlas wheatear</span> Subspecies of bird

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.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2019). "Oenanthe xanthoprymna". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T22735267A154494331. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22735267A154494331.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. ENGLISH NAME UPDATES - IOC Version 2.9 (July 10, 2011) Archived March 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine , IOC World Bird List
  3. 1 2 "Chestnut-rumped Wheatear (Oenanthe xanthoprymna)". Internet Bird Collection. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
  4. 1 2 Gooders, John, ed. (1979). Birds of Heath and Woodland. London: Orbis Publishing. p. 215. ISBN   0-85613-380-9. LCCN   79314145.
  5. "Rufous-tailed Wheatear". Birds and birding in India. Retrieved 2012-05-11.