Capped Wheatear - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Mybs
Blouvlei near Cape Town, South Africa, September 2005

Oenanthe pileata

Identification

17-18 cm

• Black cap, cheeks, breast band
• White eye stripe and throat
• White underparts
• Buff flanks and lower belly
• Black tail base, centre of tail forms an inverted "T"
• White rump
• Black pointed bill
• Black legs
  

Juvenile: brown cap and cheeks

Distribution

Africa
Western Africa: DRC and Angola
Eastern Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Lesotho

Subspecies livingstonii
Photo by nigelblake
Tanzania, July 1997

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

There are 3 subspecies:

• O. p. neseri:

• Southern Angola and northern Namibia to western Botswana

• O. p. livingstonii:

• Eastern Angola to Zaire, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique

• O. p. pileata:

• Southern Namibia and South Africa

Habitat

Stony plains, semi-desert, thornveld and short grassland.

Behaviour

Often seen perched on stones and fence posts.

Breeding

Monogamous.

The nest is made from straw, grass, and leaves, in a hole in the ground or a termite mound. The clutch consists of 3-4 eggs.

Diet

The diet includes insects, especially ants.

Gallery

Click on photo for larger image

• 

  Moulting Juvenile
  Photo by CollinBax
  Agter-Paarl, South Africa, January 2009

• 

  Juvenile
  Photo by nkgray
  Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa, May 2006

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase
3. Wikipedia
4. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Capped Wheatear. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Capped_Wheatear

External Links

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