Desert Wheatear
Oenanthe deserti (Temminck, 1825)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The desert wheatear (Oenanthe deserti) is a wheatear, a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscicapidae). It is a migratory insectivorous species, 14.5 to 15 cm (5.7 to 5.9 in) in length. Both western and eastern forms of the desert wheatear are rare vagrants to western Europe. The western desert wheatear breeds in the Sahara and the northern Arabian Peninsula. The eastern race is found in the semi-deserts of Central Asia and in winter in Pakistan and northeast Africa. The plumage of the upper parts of the male in summer is buff. The underparts are white with a buff tinge on the breast. The black on the face and throat extends to the shoulders, and there is distinct white superciliary stripe.
Wikipedia contributors, Desert wheatear; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:44:52.578991+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Oenanthe deserti (Temminck, 1825)
- Name authority
- (Temminck, 1825)
- Common name
- Desert Wheatear
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Oenanthe
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyMuscicapidae Fleming, 1822
- genusOenanthe Vieillot, 1816
- speciesOenanthe deserti (Temminck, 1825)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Oenanthe. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Oenanthe albonigra (Hume, 1872) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-breasted WheatearOenanthe bottae (Bonaparte, 1854) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cyprus WheatearOenanthe cypriaca (Homeyer, 1884) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Oenanthe dubia (Blundell & Lovat, 1899) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Oenanthe fusca (Blyth, 1851) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-eared WheatearOenanthe hispanica (Linnaeus, 1758) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Isabelline WheatearOenanthe isabellina (Temminck, 1829) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-crowned WheatearOenanthe leucopyga (C. L. Brehm, 1855) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black WheatearOenanthe leucura (Gmelin, 1789) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Arabian WheatearOenanthe lugentoides (Seebohm, 1881) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Abyssinian WheatearOenanthe lugubris (Rüppell, 1837) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Hooded WheatearOenanthe monacha (Temminck, 1825) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=561647 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:48X6R. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.