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Blackstart

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

It is a 14–16 cm long bird 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, but the male on average has blacker lores. The song is a clear melancholy whistle: CHURlee...TRUloo...CHURlee...TRUlur..., with short phrases from the song used as a call.

It is a species of rocky deserts and mountain slopes which nests in a rock crevice where it lays its 3–5 eggs. It feeds on insects, taken mainly on the ground.

The blackstart is a confident species, unafraid of man.

The blackstart was formerly included as the type species in the genus Cercomela. 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. As part of a reorganization of the species to create monotypic genera, the blackstart was assigned to the genus Oenanthe.