Leucistic Stonechat as pitfall of Desert Wheatear
On 5.12.2012 a believed-to-be Desert Wheatear Oenanthe deserti was found at Gola de Puçol, near Marjal dels Moros, Valencia. The bird had an obvious all black tail and showed a proper combination of whitish underparts and mantle combined with brown cap, blackish face and bib plus slender black bill. Some pictures were taken and a report was sent to Spanish Rarities Committe (CR-SEO/BirdLife). When seen the (distant) images, it was quickly felt that something was wrong with the expected Wheatear shape, particularly in terms of proportions. After acknowledging the authors and telling them that we were thinking in an aberrant (probably leucistic) Stonechat ( Saxicola rubicola ) rather than a Desert Wheatear, an alert was sent to local birdwatchers. On 6.12.2012 Miguel Tirado and others went to the site of the observation only to confirm the initial suspicions: the bird was indeed an amazing lecistic Stonechat, which almost matched the colour pattern of Desert Wheatear!. Unlike 5.12, ...