Archipelago Wildlife Library

The song of Oenanthe hispanica includes fast varying phrases such as “schwer-schwer-schwee-ooo”, whistles and mimicry of other birds such as the Linnet, Goldfinch, and Barn Swallow ^{(3) (4)}. Calls are a wheezy “tssch”, a hoarse “shrrr”, or a hard “tack” ^{(1) (2)}.

Black-eared Wheatears perch on low bushes or atop of a rock, watching for insects. It may feed from the ground or chase after an insect. Their flight is quick and lightly undulating, their long tail helping them to manoeuvre and swoop up to a raised perches ⁽¹⁾. In Greece, non-adult birds disperse from their family group in late July often to freshly cultivated land ⁽¹⁾.

Black-eared Wheatears live in a variety of habitats with trees or bushes, such as stony maquis slopes, steep eroded surfaces, open country, pastureland, along streams, dry-stone walls, ruins and gardens ^{(2) (5)}.  Their wintering habitat in Africa is semi-arid country dominated by short thorny trees and annual grasses ⁽⁴⁾.

The female builds a grass cup lined with hair, well hidden under boulders, in holes or under bushes ^{(1) (3)}. The breeding season is from April to June. Two broods are laid, of four or five eggs. The female incubates the eggs for 13 days and both the male and female feed the nestlings for around 13 days ^{(3) (6)}.

Black-eared Wheatears are native to Southern Europe, Eastern Europe across to Russia and China, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa 10˚N of the equator ^{(4) (7)}. The European population, estimated at 1.4 to 3.3 million pairs, constitutes more than 50% of its global breeding range ⁽⁷⁾.

Black-eared Wheatears visit Europe in the summer, migrating from their wintering grounds in Africa in March and April, and returning in August and September ⁽⁵⁾. They generally do not migrate further south than a latitude of 10˚N, though they have been found as vagrants further south ^{(4) (8)}.

Their predominantly prey is insects, and some small seeds.  One of their prey foods is the Heath Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus) which inhabits maquis slopes from June to October.  This grasshopper measures 15 to 18 mm, and when it is alarmed will dive under cover rather than hopping away ⁽⁹⁾.

A potential predator of the Black-eared Wheatear in its European breeding grounds is the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus).

IUCN Red List = Least Concern ⁽⁸⁾

Despite the above classification it suffered large declines between 1970 and 1990 ⁽⁷⁾. In parts of its range it has remained stable or increased during 1990 and 2000, whereas in other regions the decline is continuing ⁽⁷⁾.

Description written by Maite Guignard (2009)

(1)   Handrinos. G., and Akriotis. T. (1997) The Birds of Greece, Christopher Helm Ltd., London

(2)   Jonsson. L. (1992) Birds of Europe, Christopher Helm Ltd., London

(3)   Perrins. C. (1987) Collins New Generation Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe, Collins, London

(4)   Moreau. R.E. (1952) The Place of Africa in the Palaearctic Migration System, Journal of Animal Ecology, 21(2): 250-271

(5)   Mullarney. K., Svensson. L., Zetterstrom. D., and Grant. P.J. (1999) Collins Bird Guide, Harper Collins Publishers, London

(6)   Yanes. M. and Sufirez. F. (1997) Nest predation and reproductive traits in small passerines: a comparative approach,  Acta Oeccologica, 18(4): 413-426

(7)   Bird Life International (2009) Species factsheet: Oenanthe hispanica [online] Available: http://www.birdlife.org [date accessed: 18/5/2009]

(8)   IUCN (2008) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species [online] Available:

http://www.iucnredlist.org [date accessed: 14/05/2009]

(9)   Sterry, P. (2000) Complete Mediterranean Wildlife, Harpers Collins Publishers, London