This is a slightly different version from that published in Sandgrouse 16: 32-35, 1994.
An isolated population of 'black wheatears' inhabiting the basalt desert north of Azraq, previously attributed to the black-bellied, opistholeuca morph of the Eastern Pied Wheatear Oenanthe picata (Clarke, 1981; Wallace, 1983), now appear to be a morph of the Mourning Wheatear O. lugens on the basis of breeding data (L. Cornwallis in Clement, 1987 and Cramp, 1988).
At least three specimens, assigned to Black Wheatear Oenanthe leucopyga, have been collected in Jordan (Disi and Bouran, 1987; Shafei, 1988) and are now identified as this form. One is in the Shaumari reserve museum, Azraq, the other two, described below, are located in the extensive collection of the Jordan Natural History Museum, Yarmouk University, Irbid. One individual was also photographed east of Safawi in December 1990.
Description of Specimen No. 677
This is a male collected 30km west of Safawi on 27 January 1985. The whole of the body plumage is matt black with a slight brownish tinge, except for the upper and undertail coverts which are white. The extent of the white on the rump is similar to Eastern Pied Wheatear, but the black on the underparts extends well behind the legs (as in Black Wheatear). The feathers bordering the tail coverts are broadly tipped white.
The wings are dark brownish black with no pale tips to the wing coverts. The flight feathers are worn, but paler terminal fringes to the inner primaries and secondaries remain, the latter also showing an off-white notch. The outer webs of p6-p8 are emarginated. The upperwing is dark, with slightly paler bases to the inner webs of the primaries and secondaries (much less extensive than Mourning Wheatear). The underwing is off-white, becoming silvery on the primary and secondary tips (not as clean white or as extensive as Mourning). The underside of the small p10 is all dark (white based in Mourning). The underwing coverts are black.
The tail is worn, except for three (apparently) partly-grown outer tail feathers on the left side only. A broad black terminal band to the tail has worn remnants of a white tip (up to 4mm wide on the new feathers on the left). The central tail feathers are black, the upper 8mm being covered by the longest uppertail covert. Amount of black in tail pattern: t1 39mm (max), t2 23mm, t3 19/15mm (outer/inner), t4 16/14mm, t5 15.5/15.5mm, t6 19/17.5mm.
Approximate measurements: bill (to nostril) 10mm, (to skull) 18.5mm, tail 65mm, wing 97 and 99mm, tarsus 27mm.
Specimen 678, collected with the previous specimen, is similar in all respects, but has a white tip to the tail feathers grading from 2mm on the outer feathers to nothing on the central pair.
Discussion
The characteristics of the basalt wheatears are consistent and, in detail, unlike any other Western Palearctic wheatear species or morph, although their basic plumage pattern is most similar to black morph Eastern Pied and Black Wheatears (Clement, 1987). They differ from Eastern Pied Wheatear in wing pattern in flight, fewer primary emarginations (Cramp, 1988) and more extensive black on the undertail (see Clement, 1987). Black Wheatear has been excluded due to its large-headed appearance, slightly bulkier size and longer bill and tarsus (Wallace, 1983); this species also has p5-p8 emarginated (like Eastern Pied Wheatear) (Cramp, 1988) and has less white on the rump. In addition, unlike the basalt wheatears both these species have duller and browner female plumages.
In structure the 'black wheatears' resemble Mourning Wheatear (including the emargination of only p6-p8) but they differ from the typical morph in having a black crown, nape, rump, breast and belly (white in Mourning Wheatear), white under tail-coverts (salmon pink in Mourning), less extensive white in the extended upper and underwing and a slightly broader black 'T' in the tail.
Distribution
The black morph Mourning Wheatears are essentially restricted to the outcrop of Al Harra basalt flows (Fig. 1), however they are neither common nor ubiquitous. Most sightings come from the Azraq to Ar Ruwayshid road, where they frequent road cuttings, boulder piles and abandoned telegraph poles in addition in natural bluffs and wadi sides. Other observations are plotted on Figure 1. They are generally absent from the featureless, rolling, boulder fields and none were seen at Ghadir Burqu', Umm al Jimal or on a 100km transect from Azraq to Ar Ruwayshid south of the main road (the route taken by Meinertzagen in October 1922). Another species typical of this stony habitat is the dark Desert Lark (Ammomanes deseri annae), whilst Bar-tailed Desert Lark (Ammomanes cincturus), Thick-billed Lark (Rhamphocoris clotbey), Temminck's Horned Lark (Eremophila bilopha) and Hoopoe Lark (Alaemon alaudipes) were found specifically on the sandy and silty wadi fills between the boulder fields. Desert Wheatear (Oenanthe deserti) and Trumpeter Finch (Bucanetes githagineus) are also present.
There are two records of presumed non-breeding black morph birds on the SW margin of the basalt: at Shaumari in February-March 1976 (Clarke, 1981) and east of the Azraq-Umari road on 6 March 1992 (pers. obs.).
The mapped range of the typical morph in Jordan includes a population on low limestone escarpments and wadis in central Jordan and an isolated cluster of observations in limestone/flint country east of Azraq (Fig. 1). Records of typical morph birds on the basalt outcrop are rare (6 out of a total of 31 personal sightings of Mourning Wheatears) and refer to four singles between Ar Ruwayshid and As Safawi on 22 September 1991 and a pair at Wadi Rajil on 19 April 1992 (pers. obs.). No mixed pairs (or intermediate morph birds) were observed. The interbreeding between morphs documented by L. Cornwallis (in Cramp, 1988), which forms the basis of the argument for 'morph' status, may therefore be rarer than suggested.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Darwish Shafei for allowing access to the wheatear collection in the Jordan Natural History Museum.
References
CLARKE, J.E. 1981. The occurrence of Strickland's Wheatear in Jordan. Sandgrouse 2, 98-99.
CLEMENT, P. 1987. Field identification of West Palearctic wheatears. British Birds 80, 137-157 and 187-238.
CRAMP, S. (ed) 1988. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Volume 5. Oxford University Press.
DISI, A.M. and BOURAN, A.H. 1987. A Check-list of the Birds of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan: an Ecological Outlook. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Jordan, Amman, 140 pp.
SHAFEI, D.M. 1988. [Wild Birds of Jordan]. Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan, 280 pp. In Arabic.
WALLACE, D.I.M. 1983. The first identification of the Eastern Pied Wheatear in Jordan. Sandgrouse 5, 102-4.