Family Old World Flycatchers and Chats (Muscicapidae)

Least Concern

Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)

Taxonomy

French: Traquet isabelle German: Isabellsteinschmätzer Spanish: Collalba isabel

Taxonomy:

Saxicola isabellina

Temminck

, 1829,

Nubia, north Africa

Sometimes considered conspecific with both O. bottae (including O. frenata) and O. heuglinii. Monotypic.

Distribution:

NE Greece, S Bulgaria, Middle East and S & E Ukraine E to Transbaikalia, Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, NC China and W Pakistan; winters in W Africa E across Sahel to Arabian Peninsula and S Asia (Pakistan and NW India), locally in Middle East.

Descriptive notes

16–17 cm; 21–39 g. Resembles non-breeding O. oenanthe, but slightly larger and paler, larger bill, longer legs (giving more upright stance),... read more

Voice

Song very distinctive, mainly by male (occasionally by female), in flight and on ground in both... read more

Habitat

Arid, open, sparsely vegetated country, including dry plains, mountain and lowland steppes, semi-... read more

Food and feeding

Invertebrates and vegetable matter; mainly insects 2–40 mm in length, and in particular beetles and ants. Animal prey recorded... read more

Breeding

Mid-Apr to mid-Jul in Israel and Apr–May in Jordan; Mar–Jun in Armenia and Baluchistan; sometimes as early as mid-Feb in... read more

Movements

Migratory; winters in Africa (mainly Sahel zone and NE & E Africa), Arabian Peninsula and SW... read more

Status and conservation

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Generally common to very common. European population in mid-1990s estimated at 423–1378 pairs, with additional 100,000–1,... read more

Bibliography

Public comments

Scientific classification

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Muscicapidae

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In past, traditionally treated as an outsize family that also included expanded versions of Sylviidae, Timaliidae and Turdidae; these three were subsequently split off as three separate families, but still in much expanded form as compared to their current treatment. Since publication of HBW, limits of all these families have been dramatically rewritten due to a barrage of occasionally contradictory molecular data. Within present family problems remain, particularly due to incomplete taxon sampling, but near-complete screening to species level has now been attempted for at least a handful of genera (notably Oenanthe and Saxicola), and large elements of consensus have emerged, among them the recognition of four principal lineages, here treated as subfamilies. Most notable development involves transfer of many genera from Turdidae to present family, including Alethe, Cichladusa, Heteroxenicus, Brachypteryx, Heinrichia, Myophonus, Monticola, Thamnolaea, Myrmecocichla, Pogonocichla, Swynnertonia, Stiphrornis, Sheppardia, Cossypha, Xenocopsychus, Irania, Luscinia, Erithacus, Tarsiger, Cercotrichas, Copsychus, Phoenicurus, Saxicola and Oenanthe. Genetic sampling has also revealed extensive paraphyly, with the result that many species have switched genera. Some genera have disappeared completely into synonymy (e.g. Erythropygia), and others have shrunk to just one or two species (e.g. Luscinia), while a few have become substantially larger (e.g. Cercotrichas, Oenanthe).

Subfamily: Saxicolinae

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Apart from Vauriella and Ficedula, all genera previously placed in Turdidae.

Genus: Oenanthe Vieillot, 1816

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Extensively tested in recent molecular studies, where some species complexes show very low (sometimes virtually no) genetic differentiation, making assessment of species limits using such methodology alone extremely difficult#R #R #R #R #R #R; this research has also revealed notable paraphyly with other closely related genera, resulting in: inclusion herein of most species formerly treated in Cercomela, and one hitherto placed in Pentholaea, as well as removal of one species from Oenanthe to Myrmecocichla.

See full taxonomic structure and notes