Wednesday 28 March 2012

Pied Wheatear

There's a small, nondescript wadi that runs at the back of Sde Boker cemetery. It has been very worthwhile walking along it as it seems to attract a lot of birds - many warblers including Rupell's and Orphean, Ehrenberg's Redstart to name but a few. And of course, lots of wheatears (Black-eared, Northern, Isabelline). This one in particular stood out from the crowd. There's been a bit of discussion about the current Pied/Cyprus wave that's coming through at the moment and there's no doubt that care needs to be taken in identifying them. I'm confident that the photos below show a Pied Wheatear but all comments are welcome.
For me, the tail pattern - wider at the outer tail and almost broken at t3, t4 - nails it. One from the top,
 and one from underneath.

Lunchtime birding at Sde Boker often turns up a surprise. Another exciting wheatear - Cyprus! Such a shame that wire is in the way.

 Note the terminal tail band is solid.

Also through was my first Ortolan of the season. Lovely bird.
Still many Cretzschmar's around.
A distant European Cuckoo flew past as a final treat before going back to the lab.

No comments:

NW India - 9th to 22nd February 2020 (Kosi River, Corbett NP, Haripur Dam, Pangot, Sattal, Chopta, Walterre)

If you look through the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, 2011) you cannot help noticing the huge range of s...