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    • Japan 2014 >
      • Red Crowned Cranes
      • Snow Monkeys
      • Steller Eagle
      • White Tailed Eagles
      • Whooper Swans
    • Yellowstone Park 2015 >
      • Bison
      • Coyote
      • Elk
      • Grizzly Bear
      • Landscape
      • BigHorn Sheep
      • Moose
      • Pronghorn
      • Red Fox
      • Other
    • Scotland 2015 >
      • Osprey 2015
    • Africa 2015 >
      • African Elephant
      • African Wild Dogs
      • Antelope
      • Baboon
      • Birds
      • Hippos
      • Giraffe
      • Leopards
      • Meerkat
      • Warthog
      • Zebra
    • Falklands 2015 >
      • Birds
      • Elephant Seals
      • Penguins
    • South Georgia 2015 >
      • Birds
      • Seals
      • Penguins
    • Dovrefjell. Norway
    • Iceland 2016 >
      • Wildlife
      • Landscapes
    • Melrakki - Iceland
    • Puffins of Skomer Island 2017
    • Golden Eagles of Sweeden
    • Shetland Islands 2017
    • Antarctica - The Last Frontier
    • Big Cats and wildlife of Tanzania
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    • Knot
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Northern Wheatear plumage changes

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The Northern Wheatear or Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It is the most widespread member of the wheatear genus Oenanthe in Europe and Asia.

The Northern Wheatear is a migratory insectivorous species breeding in open stony country in Europe and Asia with footholds in northeastern Canada and Greenland as well as in northwestern Canada andAlaska. It nests in rock crevices and rabbit burrows. All birds winter in Africa.

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The Northern Wheatear is larger than the European Robin at 14½–16 cm length. Both sexes have a white rump and tail, with a black inverted T-pattern at the end of the tail.

The plumage of the summer male has grey upperparts, buff throat and black wings and face mask. In autumn it resembles the female apart from the black wings. The female is pale brown above and buff below with darker brown wings. The male has a whistling, crackly song. Its call is a typical chat chack noise.
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The Northern Wheatear makes one of the longest journeys of any small bird, crossing ocean, ice, and desert. It migrates from Sub-Saharan Africa in Spring over a vast area of the northern hemisphere that includes northern and central Asia, Europe, Greenland, Alaska, and parts of Canada. In Autumn all return to Africa, where their ancestors had wintered.Arguably, some of the birds that breed in north Asia could take a shorter route and winter in south Asia; however, their inherited inclination to migrate takes them back to Africa.

Birds of the large, bright Greenland race, leucorhoa, makes one of the longest transoceanic crossings of any passerine. In spring most migrate along a route (commonly used by waders and waterfowl) from Africa via continental Europe, the British Isles, and Iceland to Greenland. However, autumn sightings from ships suggest that some birds cross the North Atlantic directly from Canada and Greenland to southwest Europe (a distance of up to 2500 km). Birds breeding in eastern Canada are thought to fly from Baffin Island and Newfoundland via Greenland, Ireland, and Portugal to the Azores (crossing 3500 km of the North Atlantic) before flying onwards to Africa. Other populations from western Canada and Alaska migrate by flying over much of Eurasia to Africa

Interesting Facts


  • The Northern Wheatear was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae.
  • The scientific name oenanthe is from ancient Greek and means "wine-flower," alluding to the fact that these birds return to Greece in the spring just as the vineyards blossom.
  • This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae in 1758 as Motacilla oenanthe.
  • A group of wheatears are collectively known as a "bowl" and a "shaft" of wheatears.

More ID Help


Barn Owl
Bar tailed Godwit
Bearded Reedling
Black tailed Godwit
Common Kestrel
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Kingfisher
Knot
Dunlin
Reed Bunting
Ringed Plover
Marsh Harrier
Northern Wheatear
Sanderling
Siskin
Some British Birds of Prey
Stonechat
Wader ID Help
Winter Thrushes


Useful Links
The Barn Owl Trust
The Hawk and Owl Trust
RSPB
Underwater Photography
Wildlife & Environmental Causes
Scottish Wildlife
National Geographic

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All images appearing on this website and its content are the copyright of John S Betts. All rights reserved.