mdahlem.net WWW

Birds of Oman home   Bird names   News    Family groups 1-26    Tips   Glossary   Plumage   Thumbnails    General information    Credits    PHOTOS FOR SALE
NON-PASSERINES     1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10     11     12     13     14	15     16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24    25    26    PASSERINES
Common names sorted alphabetically: B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   R   S   T   V   W

19

Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina) Size: 15-16.5 cm

Oman: Family Group 19 Family Group 19 Table Rufous Bush Robin Black Redstart Common Redstart Blue Rock Thrush Red-tailed Wheatear Isabelline Wheatear Desert Wheatear White-crowned Wheatear Hume's Wheatear Arabian Babbler Thumbnails page Classification table Index of bird names Birds home page

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Isabelline Wheatears relatively large 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 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. Isabelline Wheatears populate basically the entire (near-)coastal fringe of Arabia, plus parts of inland Saudi Arabia. In Oman they can be found in most parts, except towards the interior, in particular in the border region to the "Empty Quarter". 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 Oman yet. The photos shown below were taken in Egypt. All photographic information presented on this page has kindly been contributed by M. Eaton.

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]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral 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]