Northern Wheatear Life History

Habitat

Northern Wheatears are birds of open-country habitats. They avoid areas with tall grasses or significant tree cover, and are tolerant of human habitation. Breeding habitats include short meadow, grazed pasture, dry arctic tundra with rock outcrops or boulder fields, and other settings with short vegetation and scattered rocks and boulders. Nonbreeding birds in sub-Saharan Africa occur in short-grass acacia steppe, savanna with limited trees, barren rocky areas, open fields, and cultivated areas.

Food

Northern Wheatears feed primarily on insects taken from the ground. During the breeding season, adult and larval beetles, moths, butterflies, bees, wasps, and ants are common prey, among many other invertebrates. In late summer and fall, as birds prepare for migration, they add berries to their diet. Northern Wheatears forage on or near the ground, in areas with bare earth or short vegetation. They commonly hop or run in short bursts, and then pause to survey the area or peck at insects. They also scan from low perches before swooping down on prey.

Nesting

Nest Placement

The female builds the nest in a cavity, frequently in a rock crevice or animal burrow (in Europe, they often use rabbit burrows). Wheatears also use many human-made cavities, including under roof tiles, in pipes, and in crevices on the outside of buildings. They don't typically use nest boxes.

Nest Description

The nest is typically a three-part structure, with a foundation, cradle, and cup. The foundation is a large, messy collection of dried plant stems that sometimes includes large gull feathers as well. The cradle rests on the foundation and holds the tightly woven cup, which consists of grasses, mosses, lichens, small feathers, animal hair, and leaves.

Nesting Facts

Behavior

Northern Wheatears hop on the ground (rather than walk) and fly in an undulating pattern. When agitated, they wag their tails and bob their bodies up and down. At rest, Northern Wheatears have a horizontal posture that makes them appear compact and plump, but when alarmed, they shift to an erect posture that gives a tall, long-legged look. This species is highly territorial, with individuals establishing territories on migration and nonbreeding grounds in addition to breeding grounds. Males are extremely aggressive toward each other, displaying aggressively with their white rump and white-and-black tails, and occasionally coming to physical blows. Northern Wheatears also attack other songbird species, both on migration and during nesting season.

Northern Wheatears typically form monogamous pair bonds that last for a single breeding season, but males sometimes have two mates simultaneously. Females build the nest and incubate the eggs. Both sexes feed the nestlings, which typically fledge after 15–16 days. A few days after the young birds fledge, the parents often divide feeding responsibilities, and the fledglings quickly learn which parent will feed them and which one will not.

Conservation

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists Northern Wheatear’s conservation status as Least Concern due to an extremely large range and extremely large population size (estimated at 10–500 million individuals). In Europe, however, the species has declined markedly, disappearing from some areas in western Europe where it was formerly widespread. The European breeding population declined 3.65% per year from 1980 to 2009, for an overall decrease of 66% over those three decades. Habitat loss (due to agriculture and urbanization), changes in agricultural practices, and declines in European rabbit populations (which provide nesting sites and help maintain ideal wheatear habitat) have all contributed to Northern Wheatear declines in Europe.

Credits

BirdLife International. 2018. Oenanthe oenanthe. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T103773898A132192232. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T103773898A132192232.en.

Dunn, E. H., D. J. T. Hussell, J. Kren, and A. C. Zoerb (2022). Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe), version 2.1. In Birds of the World (P. G. Rodewald and B. K. Keeney, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.norwhe.02.1

Svensson, L., K. Mullarney, and D. Zetterström (2009). Collins Bird Guide. Second edition. HarperCollins, London, UK.

Back to top