PASSERES— MUSCICAl'ID.E 125 



CEnanthe deserti deserti (Temminck). Desert 

 Wheatear. 



c^" Above and below sandy isabelline, face, throat, and wings 

 black, upper tail coverts, inner margins of quills and basal third 

 of tail white, rest of tail black ; under wing coverts and axillaries 

 black and white. Bill, legs and feet black. Wing 87-92. Tarsus 

 25-26. Culmen 17-20 (H,). 9 paler, throat greyer, except in 

 very old examples. 



Resident. — Deserts of Egypt (east of Delta), Nubia, N. Arabia, 

 and Palestine. Of rare occurrence in Europe. 



CE. deserti homochroa, (Tristram). Head and neck redder 

 isabelline. Wing ^ 87-94, ? 84-89 (W.). 



Breeds, — Entire Sahara from Cape Blanco to Lower Egypt, 

 west of Delta. Has occurred in Britain and Canary Islands. 



CE. deserti albifrons (Brandt). Rather larger, like "deserti" 

 in colour but with more white on inner webs of quills. Wing 

 ^ 92-101, $ 87-97 (W.). Tarsus 24-25, Bill 12. 



Breeds. — S.W. Asia ; S. Caucasus to Thibet. Occurs Nubia 

 and Somaliland in winter. Has occurred in Britain, Heligoland, 

 Italy. 



CEnanthe hispanica hispanica (L.). Black-eared and 

 Black-throated Chats. Fr. Culblanc roux ; Ital. Monachella. 



(^ summer. Crown, nape, scapulars (partly black) and back 

 cream colour, rump and upper tail coverts white ; two central 

 rectrices black, white at base, remainder white with broad black 

 tips ; lores, orbital region, ear coverts, axillaries, upper and 

 under wing coverts, and quills black ; throat black or white ; 

 underparts white with creamy tinge, under surface of quills 

 greyish white. Wing ^ 88-94, ? 86-90. Tarsus 20-23. Bill 

 10-12. In winter, creamy colour becomes cinnamon buff and 

 also margins of wing coverts and secondaries. $ General colour 

 brownish buff, rump and upper tail coverts white, tinged buff, 

 tips of tail, under wing coverts, and axillaries brown, throat 

 never quite black (as in Eastern form), but feather bases only. 



Breeds.— ':^.^. Europe ; Spain, Portugal, S. France, S. Austria, 

 to W. Italy and Sicily ; also N.W. Africa (Morocco to Tunis). 

 Winters W. tropical Africa. Casual in Britain. 



