Abyssinian Wheatear

In the Abyssinian Wheatear, the males of the nominate subspecies Oenanthe lugubris lugubris present a color polymorphism, they can consequently be confused with the females, for the two other subspecies there is however a sexual dimorphism which makes it possible to differentiate the two sexes. The male is dark brown on the upper parts. The sides of the neck, the lores, the cheeks, the chin and the throat are black but extending variably towards the chest and the sides. The forehead, the crown and the nape are brownish stained with black. The abdomen plumage is dimorphic, either white and mottled at the junction of the chest, or entirely black. The rump and the undertail-coverts are orange-buff, the bases of the rectrices are also, but more intensely. The rest of the tail is black. The female is mostly grayish brown on the upper parts, including the crown. The chin is grayish buff and the throat and the chest are somewhat darker and strongly streaked with dark brown to the limit of the abdomen and on the flanks. The abdomen, the undertail-coverts and the tail have the same characteristics as the male. The juvenile is mainly dark, lightly spotted with buff while already having the rump and the rectrices of the adults. In both sexes, the bill and the legs are black and the iris brown. The Abyssinian Wheatear comprises three subspecies: Oenanthe lugubris vauriei is confined to a small area in the mountains of northern Somalia, Oenanthe lugubris lugubris is widespread across the mountainous terrain of central Eritrea and Ethiopia, with some observations from an area in the far northwest of Kenya (where its status is yet to be established) and Oenanthe lugubris schalowi around the Rift Valley in southern Kenya and in the extreme north of Tanzania.