Eastern Black-eared Wheatear
Oenanthe melanoleuca
A small, slim wheatear. Males striking: black wings contrast with a whitish back and crown and a black mask through the eye. Throat can be white or black. Females have a more muted version of the male’s overall pattern. The tail has a complicated black-and-white pattern that is conspicuous in flight. Found in open habitats with scattered trees, including savanna, rocky mountain slopes, and barren pastures. The song is a quick, exuberant jumble of scratchy notes. Very similar to Western Black-eared Wheatear, but usually distinguished by being much paler and more washed-out overall, with only a hint of a yellowish wash on the head, back, and breast. Also similar to Pied Wheatear, but male’s black face patch is not connected to the black wing, and female is slightly warmer and browner than the grayish female Pied.
Identification
The eastern black-eared wheatear (Oenanthe melanoleuca) is a wheatear, a small migratory passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher (family Muscicapidae). It was formerly (and still is by some authorities) considered conspecific with the western black-eared wheatear.
Taxonomy
Genus: Oenanthe; Family: Muscicapidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Oenanthe melanoleuca
- Authority
- (Güldenstädt, 1775)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Oenanthe
Range and habitat
Breeding range: PAL : sc, se Europe through the Middle East to Iran and sw Kazakhstan. Non-breeding range: ne Africa.
- Breeding range
- PAL : sc, se Europe through the Middle East to Iran and sw Kazakhstan
- Non-breeding range
- ne Africa
Photos
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Stachyris thoracica
Handsome and well-named large babbler with a snow-white “bib.” Also note blue facial skin and bright chestnut back. Crown is brownish on birds from western Java, and grayish on those from central and eastern Java. Despite large size and bright colors, can be quite skulky and difficult to see well. Hops and clambers about in dense bushes and vines in foothill forests, typically in mid-sized groups, giving dry churring rattles. Also gives a short, fluty-sounding whistle.
Varzea Piculet
Picumnus varzeae
Tiny, dark brown woodpecker. Plumage varies; typically darker and more unmarked in the east and more barred toward the west, but usually looks scaled with white spots. Males have a red forehead. Found across a restricted distribution in seasonally flooded forests and on river islands.
Sao Tome Paradise-Flycatcher
Terpsiphone atrochalybeia
A distinctive long-tailed paradise-flycatcher with different-looking sexes. Male is glossy blue-black with a pale blue bill and blue eye-rings; female has a dark crown, a gray face, rusty upperparts, and pale underparts. Juvenile is like female; young male slowly turns black. A common resident throughout São Tomé in the understory and at middle levels of most habitats. The only other flycatcher within its range is the dull brown Spotted Flycatcher, a scarce migrant. Calls include a rapid electric clicking and buzzing “dzzrt-dzzrt-dzzrt.” The song is a musical repeated “swee dzee-tee che-ree.”
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