Finsch's wheatear (''Oenanthe finschii)'' is a

wheatear The wheatears are passerine birds of the genus ''Oenanthe''. They were formerly considered to be members of the thrush family, Turdidae, but are now more commonly placed in the flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. This is an Old World group, but ...

, a small insectivorous

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family,

Turdidae The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flyca ...

, but is now more generally considered to be an

Old World flycatcher The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica'') and north ...

of the family Muscicapidae.

Taxonomy and etymology

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).

Subspecies

There are two recognized subspecies: * ''O. f. finschii'' ( Oates, 1890) – The

nominate subspecies In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...

. Summers and breeds from southern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

south to northern

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, and east to western

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

; winters in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. * ''O. f. barnesi'' ( Hoeglin, 1869) – Summers and breeds from eastern Turkey to eastern and central Iran, southern

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

, and western

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

; winters in southwestern Asia.

Description

A medium-sized elegant wheatear with long wings and long legs. It measures long, with wingspan, and weigh . 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 eastern 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. Its call is a whistled ''tsit'', and the song is a mix of clear notes with whistles and crackling.

Ecology

Finsch's wheatear breeds in semi-desert and stony hillsides from

east to

and western

. It is a short-distance migrant, wintering in

and the

Greater Middle East The Greater Middle East is a geopolitical term introduced in March 2004 in a paper published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as part of the United States' preparatory work for the Group of Eight summit of June 2004. The pap ...

. The nest is built in a rock crevice, and 4-5 eggs is the normal clutch. It feeds mainly on insects.

Status

The species has a wide distribution range, a large population, and although its population trends are unknown, they are not believed to be fast enough to approach vulnerability. As a result, it is classified as "

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

" by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

(IUCN). In Europe, the estimated breeding population ranges from 102,000 to 309,000 pairs, representing approximately 25% of the species' global range. This translates to a preliminary global population estimate of 816,000 to 2,470,000 mature individuals, which requires further validation.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q769093 Finsch's wheatear Birds of Afghanistan Birds of Central Asia Birds of West Asia Finsch's wheatear Taxa named by Theodor von Heuglin