A second Isabelline
Wheatear sighting in a little over a week. The bird was seen two days in a row,
Stefan de Maillon in the Chobe area Botswana, on the 1st and 2nd
January 2013. GPS co-ordinates provided by Stefan are 17°52'17.99"S ;
25°14'22.12"E. Close to Senyati Safari Lodge on the dirt road to Lesoma.
Isabelline Wheatear
The Isabelline
Wheatear - Oenanthe isabellina - was
formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family -Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World
Flycatcher family - Muscicapidae. It
breeds in southern Russia and
central Asia, Wintering in India
and Africa, north of the equator.
Description
The largest of
the Oenanthe species. It has a long, strong and slightly hooked bill, a
relatively short tail, and a long body usually held noticeably upright. They
are pale grey-yellow or pale fawn and are the palest of the Oenanthe species,
with little contrast between its upper and under parts. Female isabelline
wheatears are generally smaller and slightly duller than males. They have long
legs and claws and a wide footspan which enable them to run along the ground at
notable speed.
Call
Call a fairly
sharp ‘chip’, sometimes with hint of downslur, ‘chiü’; also a stifled clicking
‘chack’. Song distinctive, drawn out (verses often 10- 15 sec., pauses brief),
‘chatty’, and including diagnostic ‘Harpo Marx whistles’ (fast, short
wolf-whistles), ‘vi-vi-vi-vü-vü-vü-vuy-vuy...’, hard, crunchy sounds and also
more or less good imitations.
Food
An insectivorous
bird which consists primarily of small invertebrates, such as ants and beetles,
which it digs for in the soil. Its large, strong bill allows it to hammer prey
using its bill and then to swallow it whole. It either hovers to locate its prey
or forages on the ground, making quick dashes after prey.
Breeding
It breeds in
southern Russia and central Asia. The breeding season begins at the end of March
nesting in the burrow of a rodent or in a natural hole. Both the male and
female sharing responsibility for feeding the young. The young are fed for 12
to 14 days after leaving the nest and are then forced to the edge of their
parents’ territory. A second brood is usually started before the first is
completely independent.
Conservation Status – Least Concern
Being of Least
Concern, there are no specific conservation projects targeted at this species.
However, some efforts are in place to ensure the maintenance of habitats which
may, in turn, help to conserve it.
Birdwatching
Ask Aves Birding Tours to create a custom tour
for you to see these birds breeding.