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The wheatears are birds of the genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 Oenanthe. They were formerly considered to be members of the thrush
Thrush (bird)

The Thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively in the Old World....
 family Turdidae, but are now more commonly placed in the flycatcher
Old World flycatcher

The Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae is a large family of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing....
 family Muscicapidae. This is an Old World group, but the Northern Wheatear
Northern Wheatear

The Northern Wheatear or Wheatear , 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....
 has established a foothold in eastern Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 and Greenland
Greenland

Greenland is a member country of the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago....
 and in western Canada and Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
.

Oenanthe is also the name of a plant
Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
 genus, the water dropwort
Water dropwort

See wheatear for the bird genus of this name.The Oenanthe or water dropworts is a genus of plants from the family Apiaceae. Oenanthe is derived from the Greek oinos "wine" and anthos "flower", from the wine-like scent of the flowers....
s, and is derived from the Greek ainos "wine" and anthos "flower".






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Wheatear Bird
The wheatears are birds of the genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 Oenanthe. They were formerly considered to be members of the thrush
Thrush (bird)

The Thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively in the Old World....
 family Turdidae, but are now more commonly placed in the flycatcher
Old World flycatcher

The Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae is a large family of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing....
 family Muscicapidae. This is an Old World group, but the Northern Wheatear
Northern Wheatear

The Northern Wheatear or Wheatear , 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....
 has established a foothold in eastern Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 and Greenland
Greenland

Greenland is a member country of the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago....
 and in western Canada and Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
.

Oenanthe is also the name of a plant
Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
 genus, the water dropwort
Water dropwort

See wheatear for the bird genus of this name.The Oenanthe or water dropworts is a genus of plants from the family Apiaceae. Oenanthe is derived from the Greek oinos "wine" and anthos "flower", from the wine-like scent of the flowers....
s, and is derived from the Greek ainos "wine" and anthos "flower". In the case of the plant genus, it refers to the wine-like scent of the flowers. In the case of the wheatear, it refers to the Northern Wheatear's return to Greece in the spring just as the grapevines
Vitis

Vitis is a genus of about 60 species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern hemisphere....
 blossom.

They are terrestrial insectivorous passerine
Passerine

A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders:...
 bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
s of open, often dry, country. They often nest in rock crevices or disused burrows.

Northern species are long-distance migrants
Bird migration

Bird migration refers to the regular seasonal journeys undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather....
, wintering in Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
.

Wheatears are typically larger than the European Robin
European Robin

The European Robin , or, in Anglophone Europe, simply Robin, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family , but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher ....
. Most species have characteristic black and white or red and white markings on their rumps or their long tails.

Most species are strongly sexually dimorphic
Sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism is the systematic difference in form between individuals of different sex in the same species. Examples include color , size, and the presence or absence of parts of the body used in courtship displays or fights, such as ornamental feathers, horns, antlers or tusks....
; only the male has the striking plumage patterns characteristic of the genus, though the females share the white or red rump patches.

Its English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 name is not derived from "wheat
Wheat

Wheat , is a worldwide cultivated Poaceae from the Levant region of the Middle East. Globally, after maize, wheat is the second most-produced food among the cereal just above rice....
" or any sense of "ear
Ear

The ear is the sense organ that detects sounds. The vertebrate ear shows a common biology from fish to humans, with variations in structure according to order and species....
", but is altered from "white" and "arse", which refers to its prominent white rump.

The wheatear species are:

  • Northern Wheatear
    Northern Wheatear

    The Northern Wheatear or Wheatear , 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....
    , Oenanthe oenanthe
  • Isabelline Wheatear
    Isabelline Wheatear

    The Isabelline Wheatear, Oenanthe isabellina, 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....
    , Oenanthe isabellina
  • Desert Wheatear
    Desert Wheatear

    The Desert Wheatear is a wheatear, 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....
    , Oenanthe deserti
  • Black-eared Wheatear
    Black-eared Wheatear

    The Black-eared Wheatear is a wheatear, a small bird migration 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....
    , Oenanthe hispanica
  • Pied Wheatear
    Pied Wheatear

    The Pied Wheatear, Oenanthe pleschanka, is a wheatear, a small insectivorous passerine 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....
    , Oenanthe pleschanka
  • Cyprus Wheatear
    Cyprus Wheatear

    The Cyprus Wheatear or Cyprus Pied Wheatear is a small, 14-15 cm long 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....
    , Oenanthe cypriaca
  • Finsch's Wheatear
    Finsch's Wheatear

    The Finsch's Wheatear, Oenanthe finschii , is a wheatear, a small insectivorous passerine 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....
    , Oenanthe finschii
  • Mourning Wheatear
    Mourning Wheatear

    The Mourning Wheatear is a bird, one of 14 species of wheatear found in the Palearctic region. It is a small passerine in a group formerly classed as members of the Thrush family Turdidae, but now more generally considered to be part of the Old World Flycatcher family Muscicapidae....
    , Oenanthe lugens
  • Hooded Wheatear
    Hooded Wheatear

    The Hooded Wheatear, Oenanthe monacha, is a wheatear, a small insectivorous passerine 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....
    , Oenanthe monacha
  • White-crowned Wheatear
    White-crowned Wheatear

    The White-crowned Wheatear, or White-crowned Black Wheatear, Oenanthe leucopyga, is a wheatear, 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....
    , Oenanthe leucopyga
  • Black Wheatear
    Black Wheatear

    The Black Wheatear, Oenanthe leucura, is a wheatear, 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....
    , Oenanthe leucura
  • Persian Wheatear or Red-tailed Wheatear, Oenanthe xanthoprymna
  • Red-rumped Wheatear
    Red-rumped Wheatear

    The Red-rumped Wheatear is a species of bird in the Muscicapidae family. It is found in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Western Sahara, and Yemen....
    , Oenanthe moesta
  • Hume's Wheatear
    Hume's Wheatear

    The Hume's Wheatear is a species of bird in the Muscicapidae family.It is found in Afghanistan, Bahrain, India, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates....
    , Oenanthe alboniger
  • Mountain Wheatear
    Mountain Wheatear

    The Mountain Wheatear or Mountain Chat, Oenanthe monticola, is a small insectivorous 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....
    , Oenanthe monticola
  • Somali Wheatear
    Somali Wheatear

    The Somali Wheatear is a species of bird in the Muscicapidae family. It is found in Ethiopia and Somalia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland....
    , Oenanthe phillipsi
  • Variable Wheatear
    Variable Wheatear

    The Variable Wheatear is a species of bird in the Muscicapidae family. It is found in Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan....
    , Oenanthe picata
  • Capped Wheatear
    Capped Wheatear

    The Capped Wheatear, Oenanthe pileata, is a small insectivorous 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....
    , Oenanthe pileata
  • Red-breasted Wheatear, Oenanthe bottae
  • Heuglin's Wheatear
    Heuglin's Wheatear

    Heuglin's Wheatear is a small passerine bird in the wheatear genus Oenanthe. It occurs in a band across Africa to the south of the Sahara. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of Botta's Wheatear of the Ethiopian Highlands and Arabia but is now usually regarded as a separate species....
    , Oenanthe heuglini