Blackstart
Oenanthe melanura
A small wheatear. Overall lead-gray with a prominent black tail which it fans continuously; often hops on the ground. Lives in rocky deserts and semi-arid zones; often found in desert wadis near trees and bushes and sometimes around human habitation. Can be very tame and bold. Its song is a beautiful, melancholic series of flutey syllables.
Identification
The blackstart is around 14 cm (5.5 in) in length with a wingspan of 23–27 cm (9.1–10.6 in) and a weight of around 15 g (0.53 oz). The nominate race O. m. melanura has blueish ash-grey upperparts with darker wings and a black rump and tail. The belly and under-wings are greyish white; the bill and legs are black. The sexes are similar. The North African subspecies O. m. lypura and O. m. airensis are browner than the nominate.
Taxonomy
The first formal description of the blackstart was by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1824 under the binomial name Saxicola melanura. The blackstart was included as the type species in the genus Cercomela introduced by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1856. Molecular phylogenetic studies published in 2010 and 2012 found that the genus Cercomela was polyphyletic with five species, including the blackstart, phylogenetically nested within the genus Oenanthe. As part of a reorganization of the species to create monotypic genera, the blackstart was assigned to the genus Oenanthe.<p>The specific epithet melanura is from the classical Greek melanouros meaning "with a black tail" from melas "black" and oura "tail".<p>There are 6 subspecies:<p>The subspecies differ slightly in the colour of their plumage.
- Scientific name
- Oenanthe melanura
- Authority
- (Temminck, 1824)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Oenanthe
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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