wheatear

wheat·ear

W5114400 (wēt′îr′, hwēt′-)n. Any of several flycatchers of the genus Oenanthe primarily of Eurasia and Africa, having a gray back, buff breast, and white rump.

[Back-formation from earlier wheatears (taken as pl.) : probably by folk etymology from white + arse.]

wheatear

(ˈwiːtˌɪə) n (Animals) any small northern songbird of the genus Oenanthe, esp O. oenanthe, a species having a pale grey back, black wings and tail, white rump, and pale brown underparts: subfamily Turdinae (thrushes)[C16: back formation from wheatears (wrongly taken as plural), probably from white + arse; compare Dutch witstaart, French culblanc white tail]

wheat•ear

(ˈʰwitˌɪər, ˈwit-)

n. any of several small thrushes of the genus Oenanthe, having a distinctive white rump, esp. O. oenanthe, of Eurasia and N North America. [1585–95; probably back formation from wheatears, for *whiteers white rump. See white, arse]

Thesaurus

Noun

wheatear - small songbird of northern America and Eurasia having a distinctive white rumpthrush - songbirds characteristically having brownish upper plumage with a spotted breastgenus Oenanthe, Oenanthe - wheatears

Translations

cul-blanc

wheatear

wheatear:

see thrushthrush,
bird, common name for members of the Turdidae, a large family of birds found in most parts of the world and noted for their beautiful song. The majority are modestly colored, with spotted underparts, in either the young or the adult stage, although some have bright
..... Click the link for more information. , bird.

Wheatear

any bird of the genus Oenanthe, family Turdidae (thrushes). Its size is that of a sparrow to that of a starling. It has a thin beak that is broad at the base and strong, long legs.

Wheatears are found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. They inhabit open places in plains or mountains. They move along the ground by hopping. Their nests are built in ravines, rock streams, crevices in cliffs, buildings, and old rodent burrows. Wheatears are insectivorous migratory birds. A clutch contains four to eight light blue eggs. In the USSR there are seven species. The common wheatear (O. oenanthe) is found almost everywhere throughout the country. The desert wheatear (O. deserti), black-eared wheatear (O. hispánica), Isabelline wheatear (O. isabellina), Indian pied wheatear (O. picata), (O. finschii), and red-rumped wheatear (O. xanthoprymna) are found in the southern part of the European USSR (including the Caucasus), Kazakhstan, Middle Asia, and Southern Siberia.

A. S. MAL’CHEVSKII

wheatear

any small northern songbird of the genus Oenanthe, esp O. oenanthe, a species having a pale grey back, black wings and tail, white rump, and pale brown underparts: subfamily Turdinae (thrushes)

wheatear

wheat·ear

wheatear

wheat•ear

wheatear

wheatear:

Wheatear

wheatear

wheatear

Words related to wheatear

noun small songbird of northern America and Eurasia having a distinctive white rump

Related Words