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Black Wheatear
(Oenanthe leucura)
German name(s): "Trauersteinschmätzer", "Trauerschmätzer"
Size: 16-18 cm
Weight: 37-44 g
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Physical description |
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Click here for a physical description
Black Wheatears are large wheatears, which are roughly
robin-sized birds.
Their plumage is
dimorphic, i.e.
males
and
females
are different.
Male
Black Wheatears are all-black, except for the vent, rump,
undertail coverts and parts of the tail. The tail is mostly
white, with a broad black terminal band and with central
tail feathers that have more black on them than the outer
feathers, creating a black "inverted T".
Females
are very similar to
males,
but sooty-grey where the latter are black.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See
Black Wheatear at Wikipedia .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the Black Wheatear is available
HERE
.
The range of the Black Wheatear is limited to north-western
Africa and Iberia. In North-west Africa they are present
from Western Sahara in the West, throughout and around the
Atlas mountain range, to the north-western corner of Libya.
In Europe the range of Black Wheatears is limited to mostly
south-eastern Iberia, but also in the central highlands,
up to the border region with northern/central Portugal.
Only a few birds move around the eastern fringe of the
Pyrenees into coastal Mediterranean far south-western France.
Black Wheatears have a preference for breeding in open,
often barren and/or stony, country with scattered trees, shrubs
or rocks, usually below 600 m altitude.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
M. Eaton reports spotting a Black Wheatear at Mequinenza,
Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, in September 2019.
All photographic information presented on this page has kindly been
contributed by M. Eaton.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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MALE |
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Frontal view of a male Black Wheatear
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]
Near-lateral/ventral view of a male Black Wheatear
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]
Lateral view of a male Black Wheatear
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]
Near-dorsal view of a male Black Wheatear
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]
Dorsal view of a male Black Wheatear
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.