Difference between revisions of "Northern Wheatear" - BirdForum Opus

Latest revision as of 12:18, 5 February 2024

Male, Nominate subspecies (O. o. oenanthe), breeding plumage
Photo © by DJRWhittle
Renfrewshire, Scotland, 6 May 2021

Oenanthe oenanthe

Identification

Adult female
Photo © by peterow
Lancashire, UK, 15 May 2018

14·5–15·5 cm (5¾-6 in) length
White rump, basal tail patches with black centre and terminal band (inverted "T" when seen from behind).
Breeding Male

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

Juvenile
Photo © by Nigel Kiteley
Draycote Water, Warwickshire, England, 18 August 2008

Female

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

Fall & Winter Male

Similar to female but browner.

Juvenile

Similar to female but spotted white on crown, back and chest.

Distribution

Male in flight
Photo © by targetman
Lincolnshire, UK, 9 May 2012

Male Greenland Wheatear O. o. leucorhoa
Photo © by Paul Hackett
Seaforth Nature Reserve, Liverpool, UK, 18 April 2004

Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and Greenland.
Europe: Breeds in most of Europe including for example Iceland and the Faroe Islands, in the south only at higher elevation. These populations winter in Africa.
North America and Greenland: Populations breeding in Greenland and eastern Canada migrates to Africa (via western Europe). Populations breeding in Alaska and northwestern Canada migrate by a western route through Asia and the Middle East to eastern Africa south of the Sahara. Both of these populations give rise to vagrants seen further south in the Americas and The Caribbean.
Asia: Breeds across the entire northern half of the continent, migrating to sub-Saharan Africa.
Africa: Africa is important as the winter range for almost all populations, in a broad belt from Senegal east to Sudan and south in eastern Africa to Zambia. A few also winter in southwest Asia.

Taxonomy

Wheatears were originally classified in the thrush family Turdidae, but is now considered to be Old World flycatchers, family Muscicapidae. This thread discusses aspects of Northern Wheatear taxonomy.
Atlas Wheatear was formerly included in this species.

Subspecies

Clements recognizes three subspecies[1].

O. o. leucorhoa (Greenland Wheatear)

North-eastern Canada to Greenland and Iceland; migrates through western Europe to western Africa.^[4][6][8] Slightly larger and more orange-toned below.

O. o. oenanthe (Eurasian Wheatear)

British Isles to Mediterranean, Siberia and Alaska; migrates to central and eastern Africa. The migration from Alaska to East Africa is the longest known migration of any songbird.

O. o. libanotica

Southern Spain and Balearic Is. to Iran, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. Marginally paler and longer-billed.

Habitat

Rocky tundra, grazed slopes with short turf and rocky outcrops, hill pastures, sand dunes.

Behaviour

Diet

Diet consists mosly of insects such as beetles and ants, also some berries at times.

Breeding

Nest is on the 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

Song usually in up to 3 sections. First section has 1 or 2 notes, second has 2 or 3 but up to 10 rapidly repeated notes; third section tends to be quieter, is often a repetition of first section. E. g. in the song phrase zee zee widdle ee, the first and third sections are high-pitched zee or ee notes.
Call is a straight whistle.

In Culture

The name "Wheatear" derives from Old English and means "white rear" describing its distinctive white rump.

References

Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
Svensson, L., Mullarney, K., & Zetterström, D. (2009). Collins Bird Guide, 2nd edition. Collins ISBN 978 0 00 726814 6
Bairlein, F.; Norris, D.R.; Nagel, R.; Bulte, M.; Voigt, C.C.; Fox, J.W.; Hussell, D.J.T.; Schmaljohann, H. (2012). Cross-hemisphere migration of a 25 g songbird. Biology Letters. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.1223
Collar, N. (2018). Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/58539 on 13 September 2018).
Cramp, S. 1988. The birds of the Western Palearctic, Vol. 5: tyrant flycatchers to thrushes. Oxford, U.K: Oxford Univ. Press.
Kren, J. and A. C. Zoerb (1997). Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.316
Thorup, K., Troels Eske Ortvad, & Rabøl, J. (2006). Do Nearctic Northern Wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe leucorhoa) Migrate Nonstop to Africa? The Condor, 108(2), 446-451. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4151031
Birdwatchers Pocket Guide ISBN 1-85732-804-3
BirdForum members personal observations

External Links

Search for photos of Northern Wheatear in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

Retrieved from ‘https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/index.php?title=Northern_Wheatear&oldid=272498’

Categories:

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+[[File:BF Northern Wheatear DJRW.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Male, Nominate subspecies (''O. o. oenanthe''), breeding plumage<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|DJRWhittle|DJRWhittle}}<br />Renfrewshire, Scotland, 6 May 2021]]
-;Oenanthe oenanthe
+;[[Category:Oenanthe]] [[:Category:Oenanthe|Oenanthe]] oenanthe
-[[Image:Northern_Wheatear.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by Paul Hackett]]
 ==Identification==
-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.
+[[Image:Wheatear100.JPG|thumb|350px|right|Adult female<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|peterow|peterow}}<br />[[Lancashire]], [[UK]], 15 May 2018]]
+·5–15·5 cm (5¾-6 in) length <br />
-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.
+White rump, basal tail patches with black centre and terminal band (inverted "T" when seen from behind).<br/>
+'''Breeding Male'''
-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.
+*Grey upperparts
+*Buff throat
-Its English name has nothing to do with wheat or ears, but is a bowdlerised form of white-arse, which refers to its prominent white rump.
+*Black wings and face mask
+*White stripe above the eye<br/>
-Length: 5.5 inches
+[[Image:Juv WheatearSP079421C.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Juvenile<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|Nigel+Kiteley |Nigel Kiteley}}<br />Draycote Water, [[Warwickshire]], [[England]], 18 August 2008]]
-Thin bill
+'''Female'''
-White supercilium
+*Sandy-brown above and buff below
-Dark legs
+*Eye patch and wings are brown<br/>
-White rump and base of tail
+'''Fall & Winter Male'''
-Tip of tail black
+*Similar to female but browner.<br />
-Wings black
+'''Juvenile'''
+*Similar to female but spotted white on crown, back and chest.
 ==Distribution==
-The Northern Wheatear is a migratory insectivorous species breeding in open stony country in Europe and Asia with a foothold in eastern Canada and Greenland. It nests in rock crevices and rabbit burrows. All birds winter in Africa, which makes the large, bright Greenland race leucorhea one of the most impressive long-distance migrants.
+[[Image:IMG 83533.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Male in flight<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|targetman|targetman}}<br />[[Lincolnshire]], [[UK]], 9 May 2012]]
+[[Image:Northern_Wheatear.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Male Greenland Wheatear ''O. o. leucorhoa''<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|Paul+Hackett|Paul Hackett}}<br />Seaforth Nature Reserve, Liverpool, [[UK]], 18 April 2004]]
+[[Europe]], [[Asia]], [[Africa]], [[North America]] and [[Greenland]].<br />
+'''Europe''': Breeds in most of Europe including for example [[Iceland]] and the [[Faroe Islands]], in the south only at higher elevation. These populations winter in Africa. <br />
+'''[[North America]] and [[Greenland]]''': Populations breeding in Greenland and eastern [[Canada]] migrates to Africa (via western Europe). Populations breeding in [[Alaska]] and northwestern Canada migrate by a western route through Asia and the [[Middle East]] to eastern Africa south of the Sahara. Both of these populations give rise to vagrants seen further south in the [[America]]s and The [[Caribbean]].<br />
+'''[[Asia]]''': Breeds across the entire northern half of the continent, migrating to sub-Saharan Africa.<br />
+'''[[Africa]]''': Africa is important as the winter range for almost all populations, in a broad belt from [[Senegal]] east to [[Sudan]] and south in eastern Africa to [[Zambia]]. A few also winter in southwest Asia.
 ==Taxonomy==
+Wheatears were originally classified in the thrush family Turdidae, but is now considered to be Old World flycatchers, family Muscicapidae.
+[http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=2196461 This thread] discusses aspects of Northern Wheatear taxonomy.
+<br />
+[[Atlas Wheatear]] was formerly included in this species.
+====Subspecies====
+Clements recognizes three subspecies[[#References|[1]]].
+*''O. o. leucorhoa'' ('''Greenland Wheatear''')
+::North-eastern [[Canada]] to [[Greenland]] and [[Iceland]]; migrates through western Europe to western Africa.<sup>[[#References|[4]]][[#References|[6]]][[#References|[8]]]</sup> Slightly larger and more orange-toned below.
+*''O. o. oenanthe'' ('''Eurasian Wheatear''')
+::[[British Isles]] to [[Mediterranean]], [[Siberia]] and [[Alaska]]; migrates to central and eastern Africa. The migration from Alaska to East Africa is the longest known migration of any songbird.
+*''O. o. libanotica''
+::Southern [[Spain]] and Balearic Is. to [[Iran]], [[Kazakhstan]] and [[Mongolia]]. Marginally paler and longer-billed.
 ==Habitat==
-In summer, rocky tundra, barren slopes. Breeds on dry northern tundra with many exposed rocks and boulders, especially where these are near mats of dwarf shrubs a few inches high. Migrants may be seen on any kind of open ground, including vacant lots, barren fields, coastal meadows. In Eurasia, very widespread in open country.
+Rocky tundra, grazed slopes with short turf and rocky outcrops, hill pastures, sand dunes.
 ==Behaviour==
-It feeds mostly on insects, some berries. Diet in North America not well known. In Eurasia feeds mostly on insects, especially beetles, also ants, caterpillars, grasshoppers, flies, and many others. Also eats spiders, centipedes, snails. Often feeds on berries in summer and fall.
+====Diet====
+Diet consists mosly of insects such as beetles and ants, also some berries at times.
+====Breeding====
+Nest is on the 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==
+'''Song''' usually in up to 3 sections. First section has 1 or 2 notes, second has 2 or 3 but up to 10 rapidly repeated notes; third section tends to be quieter, is often a repetition of first section. E. g. in the song phrase ''zee zee widdle ee'', the first and third sections are high-pitched ''zee'' or ''ee'' notes. <br />
+'''Call''' is a straight whistle. <br />
+<br />
+{{Audio|Oenanthe oenanthe (song).mp3 }}
-Forages mostly on the ground, running short distances and then stopping to pick up items. May run and flutter in pursuit of active insects. Also often watches from a low perch, then flies down to take item on ground. Sometimes flies out to catch insects in midair.
+==In Culture==
+The name "Wheatear" derives from Old English and means "white rear" describing its distinctive white rump.
-Nesting: Male defends territory by singing, often in flight. Song often includes imitations of other birds. In one courtship display, female crouches on ground while male leaps back and forth over her, very rapidly, with wings and tail spread. Also other postures and displays, many showing off tail pattern.
+==References==
+#{{Ref-Clements6thOct23}}#{{Ref-GillDonskerRasmussen22V13.2}}#Svensson, L., Mullarney, K., & Zetterström, D. (2009). ''Collins Bird Guide'', 2nd edition. Collins ISBN 978 0 00 726814 6
+#Bairlein, F.; Norris, D.R.; Nagel, R.; Bulte, M.; Voigt, C.C.; Fox, J.W.; Hussell, D.J.T.; Schmaljohann, H. (2012). Cross-hemisphere migration of a 25 g songbird. Biology Letters. [https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.1223 doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.1223]
+#Collar, N. (2018). Northern Wheatear (''Oenanthe oenanthe''). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/58539 on 13 September 2018).
+#Cramp, S. 1988. The birds of the Western Palearctic, Vol. 5: tyrant flycatchers to thrushes. Oxford, U.K: Oxford Univ. Press.
+#Kren, J. and A. C. Zoerb (1997). Northern Wheatear (''Oenanthe oenanthe''), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.316
+#Thorup, K., Troels Eske Ortvad, & Rabøl, J. (2006). Do Nearctic Northern Wheatears (''Oenanthe oenanthe leucorhoa'') Migrate Nonstop to Africa? The Condor, 108(2), 446-451. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4151031
+#Birdwatchers Pocket Guide ISBN 1-85732-804-3
+# BirdForum members personal observations
+==External Links==
+{{GSearch|"Oenanthe oenanthe" {{!}} "Northern Wheatear"}}
+{{GS-checked}}1
+<br />
+<br />
-Nest: Site is on ground on dry tundra, usually in hole under rock, in crevice among stones, or in old rodent burrow. Nest, probably built by female, placed within this shelter; variable cup of grass, twigs, weeds, lined with finer material such as moss, lichens, rootlets.
+[[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Bird Songs]] [[Category:Videos]]
-Eggs: 5-6, sometimes 3-8. Pale blue, unmarked or with fine reddish brown dots. Incubation is mostly or entirely by female, about 13-14 days.
-Young: Both parents bring food for nestlings, but female may do more. Young leave nest about 15 days after hatching. Probably 1 brood per year.
-==Bird Song==
-<flashmp3>Oenanthe oenanthe (song).mp3</flashmp3><br />
-''[[Media:Oenanthe oenanthe (song).mp3|Listen in an external program]]''
-==External Links==
-*[http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showgallery.php?mcats=all&what=allfields&si=Oenanthe+oenanthe+ View more images of Northern Wheatear in the gallery]
-[[Category:Birds]]