• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Climate Change maps
• Reference and further resources

Justification of Red List category
This species has a very large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (extent of occurrence <20,000 km² combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Population justification
The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is described as generally locally common to abundant in north Africa, although scarce in Morocco and Tunisia and common in Israel (where there may be an estimated few thousand pairs) and north-eastern and eastern Africa (del Hoyo et al. 2005, Collar 2020).

Trend justification
The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

The species occurs in mostly desert country, often within caves for shelter, rocky slopes, valleys and plains, screes, cliffs, ravines, gorges, desolate dry wadis, shingle ridges and flat plains (Collar 2020). It occurs only occassionally in villages, lowlands and mountains, moors, and ploughed fields. The species occurs at elevations of 1,000-4,000 m. It feeds on mainly ants, beetles, grasshoppers, butterflies and other insects (Collar 2020).

Conservation Actions Underway
There are no known conservation actions towards this species.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Monitor population trends and quantify the population size. Monitor potential threats and their impacts.

Text account compilers
Fernando, E.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Mourning Wheatear Oenanthe lugens. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/mourning-wheatear-oenanthe-lugens on 03/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 03/12/2024.