Wheatears of Iran

Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)

Old World flycatchers are a large group of small passerine birds native to the Old World. They are mainly small arboreal insectivores. The appearance of these birds is very varied, but they mostly have weak songs and harsh calls. There are 12 species which occur in Iran.

The wheatears, genus Oenanthe, were formerly considered to be members of the thrush family Turdidae. They are more commonly now placed in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae. This is an Old World group, but the Northern Wheatear has established a foothold in eastern Canada and Greenland.

Oenanthe, is also the name of a plant genus, the water dropworts, and is derived from the Greek ainos "wine" and anthos "flower", from the wine-like scent of the flowers.In the case of the wheatear, it references the fact that the type species, the Northern Wheatear, returns to Greece in the spring just as the grapevines blossom.

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They are terrestrial insectivorous passerine birds of open, often dry, country. They often nest in rock crevices or disused burrows.

Northern species are long-distance migrants, wintering in Africa.

Desert Wheatear - Oenanthe deserti Wheatears are typically larger than the European Robin. 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; only the male has the striking plumage patterns characteristic of the genus, though the females share the white or red rump patches.

Its English name has nothing to do with wheat or ears, but is a bowdlerized form of white-arse, which refers to its prominent white rump.

The wheatear species are: