Oenanthe picata
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The variable wheatear (Oenanthe picata) is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan.
Its natural habitat is hot deserts. The variable wheatear is a bird of arid and semi-arid region, and is locally abundant in barren rocky areas, sand dunes with scrub vegetation, cultivation, ravines, outside villages and nomadic encampments.
It is polymorphic and has three distinct morphs. Black-bellied phase (opistholeuca). Male (adult). Entirely jet black except rump, under tail-coverts, base and sides of tail which are white; central rectrices and terminal band of tail black. Female has black parts replaced by sooty black.
White-bellied phase (picata) Male (adult). Like the preceding but belly white. Female similar to male but black parts replaced by grayish brown; belly more buffish. White-crowned phase (capistrata). Male (adult). Like picata, with white belly and black throat, but crown and nape white. Female similar to male but black parts and crown earthy brown; belly more buffish.
The geographical dominance... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Wheatear sighting in Jodhpur on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 78th most-seen of the 127 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Wheatear in Jodhpur on a given day, against under 5% in October to July, the lowest months. That is one of Jodhpur's wettest months, with about 50 mm of rain against almost none in January.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Variable Wheatear sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Variable Wheatear sightings, Jodhpur has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Kathmandu (Nepal, under 5%) and Islamabad (Pakistan, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Variable Wheatear is recorded against all the birds logged in Jodhpur (18 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
