Chats, Old World Flycatchers, and Allies
Desert Wheatear
Oenanthe deserti
LCLeast Concern
- Family
- Chats, Old World Flycatchers, and Allies (Muscicapidae)
- Order
- Passeriformes
Overview
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.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Countries
- Afghanistan
- Algeria
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Chad
- China
- Cyprus
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Germany
- Greece
- India
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lebanon
- Libya
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mongolia
- Morocco
- Nepal
- Niger
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Poland
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sudan
- Sweden
- Syria
- Tajikistan
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Uganda
- United Arab Emirates
- Uzbekistan
- Western Sahara
- Yemen
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Desert 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.
