White-crowned Wheatear - BirdForum Opus

Alternative name: White-tailed Wheatear or White-crowned Black Wheatear

Photo by Reini
Abu Simbel, Egypt

Oenanthe leucopyga

Identification

17-18 cm

• Black
• White crown
• White rump; tail is mostly white
  

Sexes alike
Juveniles lack the white crown

Distribution

Africa, Middle East and Asia:
Northern Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Western Sahara, Libya, Egypt
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegambia, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Chad
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia
Middle East: Turkey, Israel, Jordan
Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran
Asia: Afghanistan

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 3 subspecies^[1]:

• O. l. aegra:

• Rocky deserts of Mauritania to Tunisia

• O. l. leucopyga:

• Rocky deserts of Mali to Chad, Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia

• O. l. ernesti:

• Deserts of eastern Egypt to Dead Sea, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and south-western Iran

Habitat

Stony deserts.

Behaviour

Breeding

The clutch of 3-5 eggs are laid in rock or wall crevices.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) White-crowned Wheatear. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-crowned_Wheatear

External Links

Search for photos of White-crowned Wheatear in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.