About the Kurdish Wheatear
The Kurdish wheatear, also known as the Kurdistan wheatear, the chestnut-rumped wheatear or the red-rumped wheatear, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. The red-tailed wheatear was formerly considered a subspecies of this bird but is now often regarded as a separate species. The two may intergrade in Iran but it is also possible that the rather differently coloured cummingi is in fact a one-year-old O. xanthoprymna with intermediate plumage.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
The Kurdish wheatear is about 14 centimetres (5.5 in) in length. The top of the head and the nape of the male are pale grey, separated by a white eye stripe from the black face and throat. The back is brownish grey and the underparts white or buff. The wings are charcoal with no white streak, the flight feathers being edged with brown. The flanks and under-tail coverts are orange and the tail white at the base with a dark terminal band. The female has similar markings but the colours are more muted and the dark face and throat replaced by a grey eye patch. Voice: The call note is a harsh chack-chack-chack. The song is similar to that of the northern wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) and is a rather squeaky warble.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where the Kurdish Wheatear lives
When to see the Kurdish Wheatear
Peak activity in May · a variable species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Sombre Rock ChatOenanthe dubiaThe sombre rock chat is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae.
Buff-breasted WheatearOenanthe bottaeResembles the larger and darker northern wheatear, but with a duller reddish breast and broader black tail tip.
Learn the Kurdish Wheatear in BeakBrain
Photo and call practice, free in any browser.
Play BeakBrainEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.