Northern Wheatear

Photo by Paul Hackett

Oenanthe oenanthe

Identification

14½–16 cm length
White rump, basal tail patches with black centre and terminal band.
Breeding Male

• Grey upperparts
• Buff throat
• Black wings and face mask
• White stripe above the eye
  

Photo by acksnipe
Female

Female

• Sandy-brown above and buff below
• Eye patch and wings are brown
  

Autumnal male, female and juvenile are browner in the autumn.

Distribution

Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada and Greenland.

Taxonomy

Oenanthe oenanthe has four subspecies:^[1]

• O. o. leucorhoa

• North-eastern Canada to Greenland and Iceland; migrates to western Africa

• O. o. oenanthe

• British Isles to Mediterranean and Siberia; migrates to central Africa

• O. o. libanotica

• Southern Spain and Balearic Is. to Iran, Kazakhstan and Mongolia

• O. o. seebohmi

• Morocco to north-eastern Algeria; migrates to Mauritania
• This thread discusses the possibility that seebohmi may be a separate species

Habitat

Rocky tundra, barren slopes, hill pastures, sand dunes.

Photo by Nigel Kiteley
Juvenile, Draycote Water

Behaviour

Diet

Diet includes insects, some berries.

Breeding

Nest is on ground on dry tundra, usually in hole in a wall, under stones, or in old rabbit burrow. and is a cup of grass, twigs, weeds, lined with finer material such as moss, lichens, rootlets. The clutch is usually 5-6 pale blue eggs; unmarked or with fine reddish brown dots which are incubated by the female for 13-14 days.

Vocalisation

<flashmp3>Oenanthe oenanthe (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Wikipedia
3. Birdwatchers Pocket Guide ISBN 1-85732-804-3
4. houghtonmifflinbooks
5. Collins Field Guide 6th Edition

External Links

Search for photos of Northern Wheatear in the gallery

Search for videos of Northern Wheatear on BirdForum TV