- Oenanthe melanura
Cercomela melanura
Identification
14–16 cm
- Brownish-grey plumage (lighter underparts)
- Black tail
- Dark alula
Middle Eastern races have bluer plumage
Distribution
North Africa, Middle East and Arabian Peninsula
Northern Africa: Egypt
Western Africa: Mali, Niger, Chad, Cameroon
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia
Middle East: Turkey, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 6 subspecies[1]:
- O. m. ultima:
- O. m. airensis:
- O. m. lypura:
- O. m. aussae:
- O. m. melanura:
- Dead Sea depression of Egypt and Jordan to Saudi Arabia
- O. m. neumanni:
- Western Saudi Arabia to Yemen, Aden and Hadramaut
Habitat
Breeds in rocky deserts and mountains.
Behaviour
Resident. Not shy.
Movement
Often fans wings and tail when landing.
Breeding
It nests in a rock crevice the clutch consisting of 3–5 eggs.
Diet
The diet includes insects.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- Avibase
- Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Blackstart. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Blackstart
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
