Capped Wheatear Oenanthe pileata Scientific name definitions

16–17 cm; 24–32 g. Nominate race is black on crown and face down neck side to breast, with white lower forehead and supercilium , white chin and throat ; dark brown nape to mid-rump and wings; tail black, with white outer bases contiguous with white lower rump; whitish from belly downwards, buffy flanks and vent; bill and legs black. Sexes similar. Juvenile lacks black of upper body, and has dark brown crown and blackish-brown face, buffy supercilium, buffy-white throat shading to dark-flecked buffy-brown breast. Race <em>livingstonii</em> is smaller than nominate, darker above, with narrower white above bill; <em>neseri</em> is same size as previous, intermediate in colour above between that and nominate, white on forehead as in nominate.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Arthropods , especially ants, flies, locusts, beetles, bugs, bees, wasps, termites, arachnids, lucerne butterflies, and caterpillars; in the Serengeti exclusively insects, specializing on ants. Stomachs of eight birds from throughout year in South Africa (Free State) held, by number, 53% worker ants, 16% beetles, 11% seeds, 10% (mostly winged) termites, 4% orthopterans, 4% myriapods and 2% caterpillars. Forages on ground, using rapid bound-and-grab manoeuvres; also scans from low perch, flying down to take terrestrial prey.

Song (often at night) a series of brief variable phrases, mainly 1–2 (up to 7) seconds long with pauses of 5–30 seconds, each phrase consisting of jumble of trills, whistles, churrs and clicks, with mimicry of various bird species and other animal sounds (dog bark, goat bleat, etc.). Calls include thin whistled “wiit”, longer louder “suuiit” and various clicks, all given in nervous alarm.