Bird Guide

Desert Wheatear vs Isabelline Wheatear

Desert Wheatear (Oenanthe deserti)

Desert Wheatear

Oenanthe deserti

Small20 gGrassland

The head and nape of the adult male desert wheatear are a pale sandy-grey colour with the feathers tipped grey. The mantle, scapulars and back are a similar but rather richer colour. The rump and upper tail-coverts are pale buff. The basal third of the tail feathers are white and the rest black with a pale buff tip. A curved stripe over the eye is pale buff and extends backwards. The feathers of the chin, throat, lores and ear-coverts are black tipped with white. The breast and flanks are sandy-buff and the belly and under tail-coverts are creamy-white tinged with buff.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Desert Wheatear
Recorded by ALESSANDRO MOTTA · Call, song · Castel Volturno, Provincia di Caserta, Campania, Italy · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Christoph Moning · CC BY 4.0
Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)

Isabelline Wheatear

Oenanthe isabellina

Small29 gShrubland

Male and female isabelline wheatear are similar in appearance. The upper-parts are a pale sandy brown with an isabelline tinge (isabelline is a pale grey-yellow, fawn, cream-brown or parchment colour). The lower back is isabelline and the rump and upper tail-coverts are white. The tail feathers are brownish-black with a narrow edge and tip of buff and a large white base. In the outer tail feathers this occupies more than half the length of the feather but in the central feathers it is about one third. There is an over-eye streak of creamy white and the ear-coverts are pale brown.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Desert Wheatear and Isabelline Wheatear.