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

See Examples For:

wheatear

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

For the year is never gone by; in a moment we can recall the sunshine we enjoyed in May, the roses we gathered in June, the first wheatear we plucked as the green corn filled.

From Nature Near London by Jefferies, Richard

Close by there was a small round hillock, an old forsaken nest of the little brown ants, green and soft with moss and small creeping herbs—a suitable grave for a wheatear.

From Afoot in England by Hudson, W. H. (William Henry)

Mr. Godman also shot a single specimen of the wheatear in Flores after a strong gale of wind, and as no one on the island knew the bird, it was almost certainly a recent arrival.

From Island Life Or the Phenomena and Causes of Insular Faunas and Floras by Wallace, Alfred Russel

Hence his references to Celsus and Hippocrates and his ingenious etymologies of wheatear and samphire, more ingenious in the second case than sound.

From Travels through France and Italy by Smollett, T. (Tobias)