 the cyprus wheatear or cyprus pied wheatear (oenanthe cypriaca) is a small, 14â15&nbsp;cm long 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 was formerly treated as a subspecies (race) of pied wheatear but sluys and van den berg (1982)ronald sluys, martin van den berg (1982 )on the specific status of the cyprus pied wheatear oenanthe cypriaca ornis scandinavica, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 123-128 argued that the form deserved full species status, on the basis of differences in biometrics and especially song, and the lack of sexual plumage dimorphism in cypriaca. this migratory insectivorous species breeds only in cyprus, and winters in southern sudan and ethiopia. it has been recorded as a vagrant on heligoland, germany, this species closely resembles pied wheatear, although it has slightly more black on the tail and back, and on the head. the sexes are similar in appearance, a fact first documented by christensen (1974).christensen, steen (1974) notes on the plumage of female cyprus pied wheatear ornis. scand. 5:47-52 a 2010 study found that cyprus wheatear differs from pied wheatear in 14 external morphometric characters.marc i. fÃ¶rschler, christoph randler, jochen dierschke & franz bairlein, 2010. morphometric diagnosability of cyprus wheatears oenanthe cypriaca and an unexpected occurrence on helgoland island. bird study, volume 57, issue 3 august 2010 , pages 396 - 400. the song is distinctive, and very different from that of pied wheatear, resembling an insect. it consists of a series of high-pitched buzzing bursts.bergman, h. h. (1983) some peculiarities of cyprus bird voices. cyprus ornithological society (1969) bird report 8:41-54 the song-perches utilised by this species are high for a wheatear, typically being 5 to 10 metres above ground. it often breeds in woodland habitats, unlike other wheatears (oliver 1990oliver, p. j. (1990) observations on the cyprus pied wheatear sandgrouse 12:25-30 suggested that it occupies the ecological niche used elsewhere in the western palearctic by the common redstart). it is the most arboreal species of wheatear in the western palearctic and it uses often aerial [[hawking (bir
Animals_described_in_1884 Birds_of_Egypt Birds_of_Ethiopia Birds_of_Europe Birds_of_Israel Birds_of_Jordan Birds_of_Saudi_Arabia Birds_of_South_Sudan Birds_of_Sudan Birds_of_Syria Birds_of_Turkey IUCN_Red_List_least_concern_species Oenanthe