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PLATE 100: WHEATEARS II
Pied Wheatear Oenanthe pleschanka PM
L: 14–16. Slender, often perches on bushes. From Eastern Mourning and male Arabian Wheatears
by absence of white panel in open wing. White-throated form, ‘vittata’, similar to Eastern Black-
eared Wheatear but mantle black. Autumn male has black back and throat fringed buffish, dark
crown with buff-white supercilium, and buff underparts. Female like female Eastern Black-eared
Wheatear, but upperparts usually duller, colder brown-grey; some show large dark greyish ‘bib’
in summer (absent in female Eastern Black-eared); autumn female also told by dark brown breast-
sides merging with greyish ‘bib’. First-autumn female told with difficulty from Eastern Black-eared
by colder tone above; crown, mantle and shoulders usually scalloped with rows of pale fringes
(absent or ordered erratically in Eastern Black-eared). First-winter female from Northern Wheatear
by black extending up sides of tail; the black tail-band sometimes of uneven width. Voice Short
musical song, often in flight; twittering phrases resembling lark or wagtail; often mimics. Calls hard
tack, dry trrrlt or dry, sneezed snerr. Habitat On passage and winter in rocky terrain, bare fields,
wasteground. Note Passage hatched; occasional in winter in S Arabia. Form ‘vittata’ regular in small
numbers in Oman in spring.Cyprus Wheatear Oenanthe cypriaca V
L: 13.5. Sexes closely similar; resembling male Pied Wheatear but warmer buff below black ‘bib’.
Best told by song, narrower white rump, shorter primary projection and smaller size. Female has
slaty to grey-brown upperparts and rather dark crown (all white in male), surrounded by whitish
stripe. Adult in autumn has grey-buff fringes to black mantle and throat, dark crown, buff-white
supercilium and underparts deeper rusty-buff than Pied Wheatear. First-autumn birds similar but
with more, and broader, pale-fringing. In winter underparts rapidly bleach paler, thus differing little
from Pied Wheatear. Voice Song recalls cicada but less harsh, a lengthy purring bizz-bizz-bizz, often
ending in high-pitched, drawn-out piping note, sometimes uttered in flight. Calls include a hard
tack. Habitat As Pied Wheatear, but often on more forested slopes; on passage in wadis, scrub and
cultivation. Nests in hole in bank, even a nest-box. Note Vagrant Oman.Black-eared Wheatear Oenanthe hispanica WV, PM
L: 13.5–15. Subspecies melanoleuca (Eastern Black-eared Wheatear) occurs. Small, build much
as Pied Wheatear and sharing same (variation in) tail pattern. Male of black-throated form can
be confused with male Finsch’s Wheatear but black of throat/ear-coverts not joined with black
of wings and shoulder; mantle whitish (summer) or buffish-grey (autumn). White-throated male
told from ‘vittata’ form of Pied Wheatear by pale mantle. Female Eastern Black-eared difficult to
separate from Pied Wheatear, but has whitish chin (dusky in Pied), usually with slight rustiness
below and sandier mantle. Voice Song resembles Pied, rather variable, dry, scratchy. Calls include a
hard tack, sneeze and a characteristic buzzing (like an angry fly!). Habitat Sparsely vegetated, stony
slopes; any open area on passage. Note Passage hatched.Blackstart Oenanthe melanura RB
L: 15. Slender, relatively long-legged chat with all-black tail which is slowly lowered and spread,
often coinciding with half-spreading of wings. Nominate subspecies (N Arabia, Near East) is pale
ash-grey above, whitish-grey below with whitish wing-panel; S Arabian erlangeri almost uniform
smoky-grey above, underparts little paler; wing-panel brownish. Perches freely on low branches or
rocks, typically flirting wings and fanning tail; often inquisitive and approaching observer closely.
Voice Short, mellow, subdued, simple song, sometimes uttered in flight, an often repeated che-we-
we or ch-lulu-we. Alarm a short, deep tjaet-aeteh. Habitat Sparsely scrubby slopes, cliffs and bare
rocky wadis. Note Breeding resident in S Oman; vagrant UAE. [Formerly in genus Cercomela]