Red-tailed Wheatear Oenanthe chrysopygia Rufous-tailed Wheatear, Rusty-tailed Wheatear, Oenanthe xanthoprymna chrysopygia

Red-tailed Wheatear Oenanthe chrysopygia
(aka Rufous-tailed Wheatear, Rusty-tailed Wheatear, Oenanthe xanthoprymna chrysopygia)

Red-tailed Wheatear, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, November 2010 - click for larger image

Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Red-tailed Wheatear is considered by some authorities to be a sub-species of Oenanthe xanthoprymna. It breeds in an area from north-east Turkey through Armenia, Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan while it winters to the south from the Arabian Peninsula to north-west India.

It is found on arid rocky slopes and dry scrub areas. It feeds on invertebrates, mostly ants and beetles.

It has a rather dull plumage with a dark eye-line, pale supercilium and rufous-tinted ear-patches. The rump and the side of the tail are orange-rufous while the tail shows an inverted black "T" on an orange tail.

There is more information available via Avibase.

It has a warbling song and a grating alarm call.

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