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19

Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina) German name(s): "Isabellschmätzer" Size: 15-16.5 cm

Europe: Family Group 19 Family Group 19 Table European Robin Common Redstart Black Redstart Bluethroat Whinchat European Stonechat Common Rock Thrush Blue Rock Thrush Common Nightingale Northern Wheatear Isabelline Wheatear Black-eared Wheatear Black Wheatear White-throated Dipper Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Isabelline Wheatears are medium-sized wheatears, which are roughly robin-sized birds. As opposed to many other wheatears, the two sexes of this species look alike. The only minor difference is that males have black lores, while those of females are brown. Both sexes have a brownish-grey head, with white to creamy eyebrows that meet at the base of the bill. The ear coverts are yellowish-brown, while the chin is white to off-white. The front is creamy to buff, with creamy vent and undertail coverts. The back is brownish-grey to rufous-grey, with dark-grey flight feathers with buff edge-lining. The uppertail is dark-grey. The irises are dark; the straight, pointy bill is grey and the legs and feet are dark-grey. Juvenile birds have duller colours than adults, with less colour contrast.

Taxonomy, classification See Isabelline Wheatear at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species 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 Isabelline Wheatear is available HERE . The range of the Isabelline Wheatear extends from the fringes of the Sahara desert (and some oases in the desert), parts of eastern Africa, from Egypt to Kenya/Tanzania, via Arabia to western India. Further North, they are found from parts of south-eastern Europe, via Asia Minor into southern, south-western and central Asia, including much of Kazakhstan and Mongolia, and parts of central China. There are some reports of vagrant Isabelline Wheatears from southern and eastern England, the coastline of the southern North Sea and the Baltic Sea and even from Shetland. In Europe Isabelline Wheatears are found basically only in the South-east, from Greece via Bulgaria to southern Uraine, but there are a few reports of vagrants further North (see above). Isabelline Wheatears have a preference for often rock-strewn short grass plains and slopes, in semi-arid regions on the border between steppe and semi-desert.

Sightings Click here for sighting information We have not seen an Isabelline Wheatear in Europe yet. The photos shown below were taken in Egypt (November 2017) and Georgia (June 2018), respectively.

Photos

ADULT

FEMALE

Lateral view of a female Isabelline Wheatear looking at the observer; note the characteristic brown lores - a male's would be black (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

Dorsal view of a female Isabelline Wheatear (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a moulting Isabelline Wheatear (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[June 2018]

Frontal view of a moulting Isabelline Wheatear with its tail fanned (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[June 2018]

Lateral view of a moulting Isabelline Wheatear (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[June 2018]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a first-year(?) Isabelline Wheatear (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

Lateral view of a first-year(?) Isabelline Wheatear (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

Near-dorsal view of a first-year(?) Isabelline Wheatear (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

Dorsal view of a first-year(?) Isabelline Wheatear (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

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.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Fri, 21 December 2018, 0:30 +00:00