wheatear

American  

[hweet-eer, weet-] / ˈʰwitˌɪər, ˈwit- /

noun

1. any of several small, chiefly Old World thrushes of the genus Oenanthe, having a distinctive white rump, especially O. oenanthe, of Eurasia and North America.

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wheatear British  

/ ˈwiːtˌɪə /

noun

1. 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)

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Etymology

Origin of wheatear

1585–95; probably back formation from wheatears, for *whiteers white rump. See white, arse

Example Sentences

Even more amazing, geologgers show that another small songbird, the northern wheatear, migrates from North America to sub-Saharan Africa.

From Salon • Sep. 4, 2022

THE WHEATEAR.—The wheatear is an annual visitor of England: it arrives about the middle of March and leaves in September.

From The Book of Household Management by Beeton, Mrs. (Isabella Mary)

There is not a quail, not a blackbird, not the smallest rabbit nor even the tiniest wheatear.

From Tartarin De Tarascon by Colt, Oliver C.

A mile away, I know a flinty waste beloved of the wheatear and the locust.

From The Life of the fly; with which are interspersed some chapters of autobiography by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

Chat, chat, n. a genus of small birds in the thrush family, of which the wheatear is a familiar example.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various