Desert Wheatear

SCI Name:  Oenanthe deserti
Protonym:  Saxicola deserti Pl.Col. livr.60 pl.359 fig.2
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Muscicapidae / Oenanthe
Taxonomy Code:  deswhe1
Type Locality:  Egypt.
Author:  Temminck
Publish Year:  1825
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

OENANTHE
(Muscicapidae; Ϯ Northern Wheatear O. oenanthe) Specific name Motacilla oenanthe Linnaeus, 1758; "MOTTEUX, Œnanthe.  Motacilla, Linn.  Silvia et Turdus, Lath.  Bec plus haut que large à la base, droit, très-fendu; mandibule supérieure un peu obtuse, courbée et échancrée à la pointe; l'inférieure plus courte, droite, pointue. — Ailes à penne batarde; la deuxième remige la plus longue.   Esp. Motteux, Buff. — Turdus leucurus, Lath." (Vieillot 1816); "Oenanthe Vieillot, 1816, Analyse, p. 43. Type, by monotypy, "Motteux" Buffon = Turdus leucurus Gmelin." (Ripley in Peters 1964, X, 121); "OENANTHE Vieillot, 1816  F — "Le Motteux" Buffon; type by tautonymy = Motacilla oenanthe Linnaeus, 1758" (Dickinson & Christidis (eds.) 2014, 610).
Var. Oeanthe, Ananthe, Aenante, Aenanthe.
Synon. Campicola, Cercomela, Leucotoa, Penthodyta, Pentholaea, Philothamna, Saxicola, Sciocincla, Vitiflora.

oenanthe
L. oenanthe  wheatear  < Gr. οινανθη oinanthē  unidentified bird mentioned by Aristotle, from its appearance in the vintage season  < οινη oinē  vine; ανθος anthos  bloom, associated with the wheatear by later authors; "99. MOTACILLA. ...  Oenanthe.  17. M. dorso cano, fronte alba, oculorum fascia nigra. Fn. svec. 217.  Oenanthe s. Vitiflora. Jonst. av. 123. t. 45. f. 13. Will. orn. 168. t. 41. f. 4. Raj. av. 75. n. 1. Alb. av. I. p. 53. t. 55.  β. Motacilla subtus pallida, rectricibus introrsum albis, dorso undulato. Fn. svec. 219.  Oenanthes vitifloræ femina. Alb. av. 3. p. 50. t. 54.  Habitat in Europæ apricis lapidosis.  Sexu & ætate varia: cessante nocturno frigore advenit." (Linnaeus 1758) (Oenanthe).

deserta / desertae / deserti
L. desertum  desert, waste, solitude  < deserere  to abandon.
● Desertas Is., Madeira (Pterodroma).
● Erroneous TL. South Africa (= New Zealand); "113. MUSCICAPA.  ...  deserti.  92.  ...  Muscicapa fuliginosa.  Sparrm. mus. Carls. 2. t. 47.   Habitat in Africae deserto inter fluvium Hevy et fontem Quammedacka intermedio" (J. Gmelin 1789) (syn. Rhipidura fuliginosa).

SUBSPECIES

Desert Wheatear (homochroa)
SCI Name: Oenanthe deserti homochroa
homochroa / homochrous
Gr. ὁμοχρους homokhrous  uniform, of one colour  < ὁμος homos  common  < ὁμως homōs  alike; χροα khroa, χροας khroas  colour, appearance  < χρως khrōs, χρωτος khrōtos  complexion.

Desert Wheatear (deserti)
SCI Name: Oenanthe deserti deserti
deserta / desertae / deserti
L. desertum  desert, waste, solitude  < deserere  to abandon.
● Desertas Is., Madeira (Pterodroma).
● Erroneous TL. South Africa (= New Zealand); "113. MUSCICAPA.  ...  deserti.  92.  ...  Muscicapa fuliginosa.  Sparrm. mus. Carls. 2. t. 47.   Habitat in Africae deserto inter fluvium Hevy et fontem Quammedacka intermedio" (J. Gmelin 1789) (syn. Rhipidura fuliginosa).

Desert Wheatear (atrogularis)
SCI Name: Oenanthe deserti atrogularis
atrogularis
L. ater  black; Mod. L. gularis throated  < L. gula  throat.
● ex “Coliou Rayé à Gorge Noire” of Levaillant 1808, pl. 259 (syn. Colius striatus nigricollis).
● ex “Vanneau armé de Goa” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, and Parra goensis J. Gmelin, 1789 (syn. Vanellus indicus).

Desert Wheatear (oreophila)
SCI Name: Oenanthe deserti oreophila
oreophila
Gr. ορος oros, ορεος oreos  mountain; φιλος philos  loving  < φιλεω phileō  to love  < φιλος philos  lover.