Capped Wheatear
Oenanthe pileata
Open veld. Pied terrestrial bird with rufous upperparts and flanks.
Chats, Robins, Thrushes
LC
Not Endemic
Description
Common, localised resident. Adult has broad black breast-band and white eyebrow. Immature lacks breast-band and eyebrow barely discernible; often mistaken for rare Palearctic vagrant species. Sings from some low prominence or while fluttering straight up into the air, the song variable with imitations of other birds, even mechanical sounds. Walks about with much wing-flicking and tail-jerking. Loose groups occur on bare ground, short grassland near dams, airfields, well-grazed farmlands and burned areas. Nomadic, appearing in large numbers in burned areas but disappearing when grass height makes terrestrial foraging difficult.
Quick Facts
Size
18 cm - S
Names
A: Hoëveldskaapwagter
Z: iSangwili
G: Erdschmätzer
Bird Family
Largely terrestrial, insectivorous or frugivorous birds that sing from trees, some robins rating as among our finest songsters. The sexes are alike unless otherwise stated, while immatures usually have the feathers of the upperparts pale-edged, the underparts spotted.
Distribution
Gallery
Behaviour
Breeding
Habitat
Loose groups occur on bare ground, short 'grassland' near dams, airfields, well-grazed farmlands and burned areas.
