Finsch's Wheatear vs Red-tailed Wheatear

Finsch's Wheatear

Oenanthe finschii

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A medium-sized elegant wheatear with long wings and long legs. It measures 14 cm (5.5 in) long, with 25–27 cm (9.8–10.6 in) wingspan, and weigh 21–32 g (0.74–1.13 oz). In summer the male Finsch's wheatear is a white and black bird. The white crown, central back, and belly contrast with the black face, throat, and wings. The tail and rump are white, with an inverted black T giving a pattern like eastern black-eared wheatear, but with a uniformly wide terminal band. The female is brown-grey above, becoming dirty white below. The tail pattern is similar to the male's.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: (c) Ani Sarkisyan, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Ani Sarkisyan · cc-by

Red-tailed Wheatear

Oenanthe chrysopygia

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It is 14.5 cm long with a wingspan of 26–27 cm and a weight of about 20-27 g. The plumage is fairly drab, mainly grey-brown above and greyish-white below. It has a faint pale stripe over the eye, a rufous tinge to the ear-coverts and silvery-white underwing-coverts. The rump and bases of the outer tail-feathers are reddish while the rest of the tail is black forming a T-shaped pattern. There is little difference between males and females but the male has black between the eye and bill. The female Kurdistan wheatear can be very similar but usually has white bases to the outer tail-feathers.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Jean-Paul Boerekamps · CC0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Finsch's Wheatear and Red-tailed Wheatear.