Oenanthe oenanthe
Wheatear
The Wheatear is a small, striking bird with a distinctive white rump and tail with a black T-shaped marking. Males in breeding plumage have blue-grey upperparts, black wings, and a black bandit-style mask, contrasting with pale orange to buff-white underparts and white foreheads.
Females are more subdued, with brown-buff plumage. In autumn, both sexes become duller, with males resembling females, although the males’ wings remain black rather than dark brown. Juveniles have scaly plumage, appearing spotted brown above and buff below.
Length
14.5cm to 16cm
Wingspan
26cm to 32cm
Weight
17g to 30g
Woodland
Garden
Wetland
Coastal
Urban
Farmland
Grassland
Desert
Tundra
Rainforest
Mountain
Savanna
Wheatears inhabit open, rocky areas, including tundra, grasslands, and coastal regions. They breed across northern Europe, Asia, and North America, including Alaska and northern Canada.
During migration, they can be found in a variety of open habitats. Wintering grounds span Africa, southern Asia, and northeastern Africa. In the UK, they are summer visitors and passage migrants.
The highest concentrations of wheatears in the UK are found on open uplands throughout much of Scotland and Wales and also in northern, western and south-western England.
Sea level to 2,800 meters
Temperate, Subarctic, Arctic
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Wheatears primarily feed on insects, including beetles, flies, grasshoppers, spiders, and caterpillars. They forage on the ground, often running and pausing, a 'hop and peck' tactic, to scan for prey. Occasionally, they'll also eat snails.
During migration and autumn, berries are also eaten, especially those growing on low shrubbery, including blackberries, crowberries and bilberries. Rowan, juniper and elderberry are also taken, as well as a variety of seeds.
Wheatears are active, ground-dwelling birds often seen perched on rocks or low vegetation. They frequently bob and flick their tails, especially when alarmed.
These birds are typically solitary or found in pairs during the breeding season, becoming more gregarious during migration.
The Wheatear's song is a varied, scratchy warble interspersed with mimicry of other birds. Their most common call is a sharp, stony 'chack' or 'check'. During courtship, males produce a softer 'weet-chack-chack' sound.
Male wheatears have a number of distinct songs and subsongs that vary according to purpose and situation, including a territorial song, a conversational song and a perched song.
Wheatears form monogamous pairs each breeding season, typically from May to July. Males perform aerial displays and sing to attract mates.
Nests are built in rock crevices, burrows, or under stones, lined with grass, moss, and hair. Females lay 4-7 pale blue eggs, sometimes with red-brown speckling.
Incubation lasts 13-14 days, solely by the female, although males remain nearby. Both parents feed the chicks, which fledge after 14-16 days but remain dependent on adults for another two weeks.
The Wheatear typically lives for 1 to 2 years, with a maximum recorded lifespan of 10.1 years.
Like all birds, lifespan can be affected by factors including predation, habitat quality, disease, and access to food sources.
While globally listed as Least Concern, Wheatear populations are declining in parts of Europe due to habitat loss and agricultural intensification.
Climate change may affect their Arctic breeding grounds. Conservation efforts focus on maintaining suitable breeding and stopover habitats.
Northern Wheatear
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An estimated 280,000 pairs of wheatears arrive in the UK each spring ahead of the breeding season. By October, breeding is complete, and all of these visiting birds have departed for their African wintering territories.
website: BirdLife International. 2018. Oenanthe oenanthe. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T103773898A132192232.
View sourcereport, 2015: EBCC
website, 2010: Fransson et al., EURING list of longevity records for European birds
View source