Chats, Old World Flycatchers, and Allies
Isabelline Wheatear
Oenanthe isabellina
- Family
- Chats, Old World Flycatchers, and Allies (Muscicapidae)
- Order
- Passeriformes
Overview
The isabelline wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina) is 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 in the family Muscicapidae. It is a migratory insectivorous bird. Its habitat is steppe and open countryside and it breeds in southern Russia and Central Asia to northern Pakistan, wintering in Africa and northwestern India. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Breeds south-central Eurasia; winters to northeastern Africa, Arabia, and India.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Countries
- Afghanistan
- Algeria
- Angola
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Bulgaria
- Chad
- China
- Cyprus
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- DR Congo
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- India
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lebanon
- Libya
- Maldives
- Mali
- Malta
- Mauritania
- Mongolia
- Morocco
- Nepal
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Poland
- Romania
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sudan
- Sweden
- Syria
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- Uzbekistan
- Western Sahara
- Yemen
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Isabelline wheatear
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
