- Oenanthe oenanthe
Identification
14½–16 cm length
White rump, basal tail patches with black centre and terminal band.
Breeding Male
- Grey upperparts
- Buff throat
- Black wings and face mask
- White stripe above the eye
Female
- Sandy-brown above and buff below
- Eye patch and wings are brown
Autumnal male, female and juvenile are browner in the autumn.
Distribution
Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada and Greenland.
Taxonomy
Oenanthe oenanthe has four subspecies:[1]
- O. o. leucorhoa
- O. o. oenanthe
- British Isles to Mediterranean and Siberia; migrates to central Africa
- O. o. libanotica
- Southern Spain and Balearic Is. to Iran, Kazakhstan and Mongolia
- O. o. seebohmi
- Morocco to north-eastern Algeria; migrates to Mauritania
- This thread discusses the possibility that seebohmi may be a separate species
Habitat
Rocky tundra, barren slopes, hill pastures, sand dunes.
Behaviour
Diet
Diet includes insects, some berries.
Breeding
Nest is on ground on dry tundra, usually in hole in a wall, under stones, or in old rabbit burrow. and is a cup of grass, twigs, weeds, lined with finer material such as moss, lichens, rootlets. The clutch is usually 5-6 pale blue eggs; unmarked, or with fine reddish brown dots, which are incubated by the female for 13-14 days.
Vocalisation
<flashmp3>Oenanthe oenanthe (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Wikipedia
- Birdwatchers Pocket Guide ISBN 1-85732-804-3
- houghtonmifflinbooks
- Collins Field Guide 6th Edition
External Links