blackstart

{{for|the method of starting a power generating plant after a blackout|Black start}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Blackstar - at Sde Boker.jpg

| image_upright = 1.1

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=Oenanthe melanura |volume=2016 |page=e.T22710385A94244582 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22710385A94244582.en}}

| taxon = Oenanthe melanura

| authority = (Temminck, 1824)

| synonyms = *Cercomela melanura (Temminck, 1824)

Saxicola melanura Temminck, 1824

}}

The blackstart (Oenanthe melanura) is a chat found in desert regions in North Africa, the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula. It is resident throughout its range.

The blackstart is {{cvt|14|cm}} long and is named for its black tail, which is frequently fanned; the rest of its plumage is bluish-grey or grey-brown (North African races being browner, Middle Eastern races bluer). The sexes are similar. The song is a clear melancholy whistle: CHURlee...TRUloo...CHURlee...TRUlur..., with short phrases from the song used as a call.

The habitats of blackstarts are rocky deserts and mountain slopes; they nest in rock crevices lay 3–4 eggs. They feed on insects, taken mainly on the ground. The blackstart is a confident species, unafraid of people.

Taxonomy

The first formal description of the blackstart was by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1824 under the binomial name Saxicola melanura.{{cite book |editor1-last=Mayr |editor1-first=Ernst |editor1-link=Ernst Mayr |editor2-last=Paynter |editor2-first=Raymond A. Jr |year=1960 |title=Check-list of Birds of the World |volume=10 |publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology |place=Cambridge, Massachusetts |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14486290}}{{rp|101-102}}{{ cite book | last=Temminck | first=Coenraad Jacob | author-link=Coenraad Jacob Temminck | year=1838 | orig-year=1824 | title=Nouveau recueil de planches coloriées d'oiseaux, pour servir de suite et de complément aux planches enluminées de Buffon | volume=3 | at=Plate 257, Fig. 2| publisher=F.G. Levrault | place=Paris | language=fr | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36705002 }} The 5 volumes were originally issued in 102 parts, 1820-1839 The blackstart was included as the type species in the genus Cercomela introduced by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1856.{{rp|96}} Molecular phylogenetic studies published in 2010 and 2012 found that the genus Cercomela was polyphyletic with five species, including the blackstart, phylogenetically nested within the genus Oenanthe.{{cite journal | last1=Outlaw | first1=R.K. | last2=Voelker | first2=G. | last3=Bowie | first3=R.C.K. | year=2010 | title=Shall we chat? Evolutionary relationships in the genus Cercomela (Muscicapidae) and its relation to Oenanthe reveals extensive polyphyly among chats distributed in Africa, India and the Palearctic | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=55 | issue=1 | pages=284–292 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2009.09.023 | pmid=19772925 | bibcode=2010MolPE..55..284O }}{{ cite journal | last1=Aliabadian | first1=M. | last2=Kaboli | first2=M. | last3=Förschler | first3=M.I. | last4=Nijman | first4=V. | last5=Chamani | first5=A. | last6=Tillier | first6=A. | last7=Prodon | first7=R. | last8=Pasquet | first8=E. | last9=Ericson | first9=P.G.P. | last10=Zuccon | first10=D. | year=2012 | title=Convergent evolution of morphological and ecological traits in the open-habitat chat complex (Aves, Muscicapidae: Saxicolinae) | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=65 | issue=1 | pages=35–45 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2012.05.011 | pmid=22634240 | bibcode=2012MolPE..65...35A }} As part of a reorganization of the species to create monotypic genera, the blackstart was assigned to the genus Oenanthe.{{ cite journal | last1=Sangster | first1=George | last2=Collinson | first2=J. Martin | last3=Crochet| first3=Pierre-André | last4=Knox | first4=Alan G. | last5=Parkin | first5=David T. | last6=Votier | first6=Stephen C. | year=2013 | title=Taxonomic recommendations for Western Palearctic birds: ninth report | journal=Ibis | volume=155 | issue=4 | pages=898–907 [903] | doi=10.1111/ibi.12091 | doi-access=free }}{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | year=2016 | title=Chats, Old World flycatchers | work=World Bird List Version 7.2 | url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/chats/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union| access-date=3 May 2017 }} The specific epithet melanura is from the classical Greek melanouros meaning "with a black tail" from melas "black" and oura "tail".{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url=https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn= 978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n248 248] }}

Six subspecies are recognised:

O. m. melanura (Temminck, 1824) – northeast Egypt to Israel, Jordan and central Saudi Arabia
O. m. neumanni (Ripley, 1952) – southwest Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman
O. m. lypura (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833) – north-central Sudan to Eritrea
O. m. aussae (Thesiger & Meynell, 1934) – northeast Ethiopia, Djibouti and north Somalia
O. m. airensis (Hartert, 1921) – north Niger to central Sudan
O. m. ultima (Bates, 1933) – east Mali and west Niger

The subspecies differ slightly in the colour of their plumage.{{cite journal | last=Collar | first=N. | year=2020 | title=Blackstart (Oenanthe melanura), version 1.0 | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J. | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Sargatal | editor3-first=J. | editor4-last=Christie | editor4-first=D.A. | editor5-last=de Juana | editor5-first=E. | journal=Birds of the World | location=Ithaca, NY, USA | publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology | doi=10.2173/bow.blacks1.01 | url=https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.blacks1.01 | access-date=21 January 2025 | url-access=subscription }}

Description

File:Blackstart (Oenanthe melanura).jpg, Israel]]

The blackstart is around {{cvt|14|cm}} in length with a wingspan of {{cvt|23-27|cm}} and a weight of around {{cvt|15|g}}. The nominate race O. m. melanura has blueish ash-grey upperparts with darker wings and a black rump and tail. The belly and under-wings are greyish white; the bill and legs are black. The sexes are similar. The North African subspecies O. m. lypura and O. m. airensis are browner than the nominate.{{ cite book | editor1-last=Cramp | editor1-first=Stanley | display-authors=etal | editor1-link=Stanley Cramp | year=1988 | chapter=Cercomela melanura Blackstart | title=Handbook of the Birds of Europe the Middle East and North Africa. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Volume V: Tyrant Flycatchers to Thrushes | place=Oxford | publisher=Oxford University Press | pages=718–722 | isbn=0-19-857508-4 }}

Distribution and habitat

In Egypt, the blackstart is common in the Sinai Peninsula
In Israel the species is primarily found in the Negev Desert, Arava Valley and Dead Sea areas; it is present in areas of the Jordan River valley further north, but is scarcer there.
In Jordan, the species is only found in western parts of the country, in areas from the Jordan River valley south through the Dead Sea region to the Arava Valley and Aqaba Mountains.

Breeding

The blackstart is monogamous and pairs remain on their breeding territory throughout the year. The nest is built entirely by the female and can be placed between boulders, in a rock crevice or in a disused burrow.{{ cite journal | last1=Leader | first1=N. | last2=Yom-Tov | first2=Y. | year=1998 | title=The possible function of stone ramparts at the nest entrance of the Blackstart | journal=Animal Behaviour | volume=56 | issue=1 | pages=207–217 | doi=10.1006/anbe.1998.0766 | pmid=9710479 | citeseerx=10.1.1.519.5678 | s2cid=19256931 }}{{efn|Clement 2016 reports that both sexes take part in building the nest.{{ cite book | last=Clement | first=Peter | year=2016 | title=Robins and Chats | series=Helm Identification Guides | place=London | publisher=Bloomsbury | isbn=978-1-4081-5596-7 | pages=629–631 }}}} The nest is a shallow cup of grass and leaves lined with hair and fine plant material. The female usually places small pebbles around the entrance of the nest. The 3 or 4 pale blue eggs with fine red-brown speckles are laid at daily intervals. They measure {{cvt|19.6|x|14.7|mm}} and weigh {{cvt|2.26|g}}. They are incubated by the female and hatch after 13–14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge after around 14 days. Up to three broods can be raised in a year.

A study conducted in Israel on the west shore of the Dead Sea found that a major cause of nest failure was the predation of the eggs by Golden and Cairo spiny mice.

Status

The species has a wide distribution range, stable population trends, and is presumed to have a large population, although precise estimates have not been conducted.{{cite web |author=BirdLife International |year=2025 |title=Species factsheet: Blackstart Oenanthe melanura |url=https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/blackstart-oenanthe-melanura |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=Birdlife DataZone}} As a result, it is classified as "Least Concern" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).