CreatureData

Variable wheatear

Oenanthe picata (Blyth, 1847)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The variable wheatear (Oenanthe picata) is a species in the family Muscicapidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 20.5 g to 23 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Variable wheatear (Oenanthe picata)
Photo: Dr. Raju Kasambe · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the variable wheatear

Weight
20.5 g – 23 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
desertsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the variable wheatear live?

Not recorded

What is the variable wheatear?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

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.

From the Wikipedia article “Variable wheatear” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Variable_wheatear&oldid=1362926320), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the variable wheatear endangered?

The variable wheatear is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the variable wheatear classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyMuscicapidae
  6. genusOenanthe
  7. SpeciesOenanthe picata (Blyth, 1847)

Synonyms Oenanthe picata picata, Saxicola capistrata, Saxicola opistholeuca, Saxicola picata

Other names and names in other languages (50)
  • Eastern pied wheatearEnglish
  • Eastern pied wheatearEnglish
  • أبلق متغيرArabic
  • Кадифено каменарчеBulgarian
  • Изменчиво каменарчеBulgarian
  • còlit variableCatalan
  • Шим сиргекMari
  • bělořit proměnlivýCzech
  • tinwen amrywiolWelsh
  • Orient StenpikkerDanish
  • Orient-stenpikkerDanish
  • ElstersteinschmätzerGerman
  • varia enantoEsperanto
  • Collalba variableSpanish
  • kõnnu-kivitäksEstonian
  • چکچک ابلق خاوریPersian
  • louhikkotaskuFinnish
  • Traquet variableFrench
  • Clochrán oirthearachIrish
  • סלעית הודיתHebrew
  • perzijska bjeloguzaCroatian
  • perzsa hantmadárHungarian
  • GrjótdepillIcelandic
  • Monachella variabileItalian
  • カワリサバクヒタキJapanese
  • Қара тасшыбжықKazakh
  • Қара тасшымшықKazakh
  • dvispalvis kūltupysLithuanian
  • melnbaltā čakstīteLatvian
  • കറുപ്പൻ നെന്മണിക്കുരുവിMalayalam
  • പട്ടവാലൻ നെന്മണിക്കുരുവിMalayalam
  • शबल रणगोजाMarathi
  • बहुरुपी भुइँरबिनNepali
  • PicatatapuitDutch
  • persersteinskvettNorwegian
  • białorzytka zmiennaPolish
  • chasco-orientalPortuguese
  • chasco-variávelPortuguese
  • Чёрная каменкаRussian
  • PersiageaðgerásttisNorthern Sami
  • skaliarik rozmanitýSlovak
  • nunski kupčarSlovenian
  • Raznobojna beloguzaSerbian
  • orientstenskvättaSwedish
  • Doğu KuyrukkakanıTurkish
  • кам’янка чорнаUkrainian
  • 东方斑䳭Chinese
  • 东方斑鵖Chinese
  • 東方斑鵖Chinese
  • 東方斑鵖Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the variable wheatear

Other species in the same genus Oenanthe.

CompareVariable wheatear vs Northern wheatearVariable wheatear vs Isabelline wheatearVariable wheatear vs Desert wheatearVariable wheatear vs Western black-eared wheatear

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the variable wheatear?

An adult variable wheatear weighs 20.5 g – 23 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the variable wheatear endangered?

The variable wheatear is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the variable wheatear?

The variable wheatear (Oenanthe picata) belongs to the family Muscicapidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Variable wheatear (Oenanthe picata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/variable-wheatear

MLA

“Variable wheatear (Oenanthe picata).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/variable-wheatear.

BibTeX
@misc{variable_wheatear_2026,
  title = {Variable wheatear (Oenanthe picata)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/variable-wheatear},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}