Eastern black-eared wheatear

Eastern black-eared wheatear
Adult male
Female both eastern (O. melanoleuca)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Muscicapidae
Genus:	Oenanthe
Species:	O. melanoleuca
Binomial name
Oenanthe melanoleuca (Güldenstädt, 1775)

The eastern black-eared wheatear (Oenanthe melanoleuca) is a wheatear, a small migratory 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 (family Muscicapidae).

In autumn and winter the head and mantle are distinctly buff, as are the underparts, including the throat, but the buff varies in intensity. Except for the central pair, the tail feathers are much whiter than in the northern wheatear, the white on the inner web often extending to the tip.

The female is a browner bird, but has the characteristic lower back, and her seasonal changes are less marked.

It is found breeding in the eastern Mediterranean , Southeast Europe to the Caspian Sea and Iran and migrates to winter quarters in the Sudan.

The male of the eastern is even whiter in summer than the western black-eared wheatear, but as a rule may be distinguished by the line which extends across the base of the bill. Black-throated individuals of this race have a greater amount of black on the throat and face than on the western birds, and the black generally terminates more abruptly or in a straighter line.

Further reading

• Ullman, Magnus (1994) Identification of Pied Wheatear and Eastern Black-eared Wheatear Dutch Birding 16(5): 186-194
• Ullman, Magnus (2003) Separation of Western and Eastern Black-eared Wheatear Dutch Birding 25: 77-97