Latin name - Oenanthe oenanthe

Wheatears are summer visitors to the United Kingdom having spent the winter south of the Sahara desert in Africa. Some make amazing journeys; from Africa to breeding grounds in Greenland, while others fly across Asia and nest in Alaska. Those that nest here in the United Kingdom breed mostly in the west and north though a few nest in south-east England. It can often be seen around the coast of Devon and Cornwall and on the moors. It prefers pasture land which has been grazed where it finds its food of insects and larvae. It is an attractive bird especially the males with their spring plumage of blue-grey backs, sandy coloured chest and black eye masks. Females and juveniles are paler with browner upper-parts and usually lack the dark eye patch. They all possess a short black tail which has an inverted black T shape which contrasts with a white rump.