Kingdom Animalia Class Aves Family Muscicapidae Scientific name Oenanthe finschii | Phylum Chordata Order Passeriformes Genus Oenanthe Rank Species | |
 | ||
Similar Mourning wheatear, Hooded wheatear, Cyprus wheatear, Red‑tailed wheatear, White‑crowned wheatear | ||
Finsch s wheatear paphos
Finsch's wheatear (Oenanthe finschii) is a wheatear, a small insectivorous passerine that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher of the family Muscicapidae.
Contents
This 15–16 cm long bird breeds in semi-desert and stony hillsides from Turkey east to Afghanistan and western Pakistan. It is a short-distance migrant, wintering in Egypt, Cyprus and the Greater Middle East. The nest is built in a rock crevice, and 4-5 eggs is the normal clutch.
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 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.
Finsch's wheatear feeds mainly on insects. Its call is a whistled tsit, and the song is a mix of clear notes with whistles and crackling.
The common name and scientific name commemorate the German ethnographer, naturalist and colonial explorer Friedrich Hermann Otto Finsch (8 August 1839 - 31 January 1917, Braunschweig).
Finsch s wheatear
