Wheatears | |
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Male northern wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Muscicapidae |
Subfamily: | Saxicolinae |
Genus: | Oenanthe Vieillot, 1816 |
Type species | |
Motacilla oenanthe [1] Linnaeus, 1758 | |
Species | |
See text | |
Synonyms | |
Cercomela |
The wheatears /ˈhwiːtɪər/ 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 genus Oenanthe was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816 with Oenanthe leucura, the black wheatear, as the type species. [2] [3] The genus formerly included fewer species but molecular phylogenetic studies of birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae found that the genus Cercomela was polyphyletic with five species, including the type species C. melanura , phylogenetically nested within the genus Oenanthe. [4] [5] This implied that Cercomela and Oenanthe were synonyms. The genus Oenanthe (Vieillot, 1816) has taxonomic priority over Cercomela (Bonaparte, 1856) making Cercomela a junior synonym. [4] [6] The genus name Oenanthe was used by Aristotle for an unidentified bird. The word is derived from the Greek oenoē meaning "vine" and anthos meaning "bloom". The bird was associated with the grape harvest season. [7]
The name "wheatear" is not derived from "wheat" or any sense of "ear", but is a folk etymology of "white" and "arse", referring to the prominent white rump found in most species. [8]
Most species have characteristic black and white or red and white markings on their rumps or their long tails. Most species are strongly sexually dimorphic; only the male has the striking plumage patterns characteristic of the genus, though the females share the white or red rump patches.
The genus contains 33 species: [9]
Image | Common Name | Scientific Name | Distribution |
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![]() | Northern wheatear | Oenanthe oenanthe | Holarctic ; winters to Sub-Saharan Africa |
![]() | Atlas wheatear | Oenanthe seebohmi | Maghreb ; winters in western Sahel |
![]() | Capped wheatear | Oenanthe pileata | southern Sub-Saharan Africa |
- | Buff-breasted wheatear | Oenanthe bottae | Asir Mountains |
![]() | Rusty-breasted wheatear | Oenanthe Renata | Ethiopian Highlands |
![]() | Isabelline wheatear | Oenanthe isabellina | central-southern Eurasia ; winters to Sub-Saharan, Africa, Middle east and South Asia |
- | Heuglin's wheatear | Oenanthe heuglinii | northern Sub-Saharan Africa |
![]() | Hooded wheatear | Oenanthe monacha | Middle- ast |
![]() | Desert wheatear | Oenanthe deserti | Maghreb and central Asia ; winters to North Africa, Middle East and South Asia |
![]() | Western black-eared wheatear | Oenanthe hispanica | western Mediterranean ; winters to western Sahel |
![]() | Pied wheatear | Oenanthe pleschanka | central Asia ; winters to East Africa |
![]() | Eastern black-eared wheatear | Oenanthe melanoleuca | eastern Mediterranean ; winters to eastern Sahel |
![]() | Cyprus wheatear | Oenanthe cypraica | Cyprus |
![]() | White-fronted black chat | Oenanthe albifrons | Sudan (region) |
- | Somali wheatear | Oenanthe phillipsi | Horn of Africa |
![]() | Red-rumped wheatear | Oenanthe moesta | Morocco to Jordan ; partly winters to eastern Saudi Arabia |
![]() | Blackstart | Oenanthe melanura | Sahel and Red Sea region |
![]() | Familiar chat | Oenanthe familiaris | Sub-Saharan Africa |
- | Brown-tailed rock chat | Oenanthe scotocerca | Chad, western Sudan and Horn of Africa |
- | Sombre rock chat | Oenanthe dubia | montane desert of central Ethiopia |
![]() | Brown rock chat | Oenanthe fusca | northern South Asia |
![]() | Variable wheatear | Oenanthe picata | from eastern Iran and southern Kazakhstan to Indus river ; winters to UAE and northwestern India |
![]() | Finsch's wheatear | Oenanthe finschii | Anatolia to western Central Asia ; winters to Cyprus, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan |
![]() | Maghreb wheatear | Oenanthe halophila | Maghreb |
![]() | Mourning wheatear | Oenanthe lugens | Middle East |
![]() | Basalt wheatear | Oenanthe warriae | basalt desert of eastern Jordan and southern Syria |
![]() | Kurdish wheatear | Oenanthe 'xanthoprymna' | Kurdistan ; winters to Red Sea and southern Arabian Peninsula |
![]() | Red-tailed wheatear | Oenanthe chrysopygia | Iran and Pakistan ; winters to Arabian peninsula and northwestern South Asia |
![]() | White-crowned wheatear | Oenanthe leucopyga | North Africa and Middle East |
![]() | Hume's wheatear | Oenanthe albonigra | Iran, eastern Oman to Indus valley |
![]() | Black wheatear | Oenanthe leucura | Iberian Peninsula to western Libya and Mauritania |
![]() | Arabian wheatear | Oenanthe lugentoides | Arabian Peninsula |
![]() | Abyssinian wheatear | Oenanthe lugubrious | montane East Africa |
Wheatears are terrestrial insectivorous birds of open, often dry, country. They often nest in rock crevices or disused burrows. Northern species are long-distance migrants, wintering in 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 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.
The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World, with the exception of several vagrants and two species, bluethroat and northern wheatear, found also in North America. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing. The family is relatively large and includes 357 species, which are divided into 54 genera.
The forktails are small insectivorous birds in the genus Enicurus. They were formerly placed in the thrush family, Turdidae, but are now treated as part of the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. Their common name derives from their long forked tail.
The black wheatear is a wheatear, a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is found in the Iberian Peninsula and western North Africa.
Saxicola, the stonechats or chats, is a genus of 15 species of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World. They are insectivores occurring in open scrubland and grassland with scattered small shrubs.
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.
The blackstart is a chat found in desert regions in North Africa, the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula. It is resident throughout its range.
Luscinia is a genus of smallish passerine birds, containing the nightingales and relatives. Formerly classed as members of the thrush family Turdidae, they are now considered to be Old World flycatchers (Muscicapidae) of the chat subfamily (Saxicolinae). The chats are a lineage of Old World flycatchers that has evolved convergently to thrushes.
The mountain chat or mountain wheatear is a small insectivorous passerine bird that is endemic to southwestern Africa.
The brown rock chat or Indian chat is a bird species of the family Muscicapidae. It is found mainly in northern and central India. It is often found on old buildings and rocky areas. It resembles a female Indian robin but lacks the reddish vent and differs in posture and behaviour apart from being larger. In flight it bears some resemblance to thrushes and redstarts. It feeds on insects, captured mainly on the ground. It was formerly placed as the sole species in the genus Cercomela but is now included with the wheatears in the genus Oenanthe.
The familiar chat is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is a common resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara in rocky and mountainous habitat and around human habitation.
The tractrac chat is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is a common resident breeder in southernmost Angola, western Namibia and western South Africa.
The Karoo chat is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is a common resident breeder in southwesternmost Angola, western Namibia and western South Africa. Its habitat is Karoo and desert scrub in the south, extending to the escarpment zone in the north.
The sickle-winged chat or sicklewing chat is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae endemic to southern Africa. It is a common resident breeder in South Africa and Lesotho, and is also found in southernmost areas of Botswana and Namibia. Its habitat is Karoo scrub, short grassland, and barren sandy or stony areas. In western coastal areas, it also occurs on agricultural land.
The moorland chat, also known as the alpine chat or hill chat, is a species of songbird in the Old World flycatcher family. It is endemic to north-east Africa where it is common in its habitat. It lives at high altitudes on moors and grassland, usually above 3,400 m (11,100 ft), but can live as low as 2,100 m (6,900 ft). It has a short tail and long legs. It is bold and will approach people.
The sombre rock chat is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is native to montane desert of central Ethiopia and possibly far-western Somalia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
The brown-tailed rock chat is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
The white-fronted black chat is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is native to the Sudan (region). Its natural habitats are moist savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
Emarginata is a genus of birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae that occur in southern Africa.
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