wheatear

[hweet-eer, weet-]

noun

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.

Origin of wheatear

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for wheatear

Historical Examples of wheatear

As a matter of fact, the winter home of the wheatear is Africa.
Highways & Byways in Sussex
E.V. Lucas
It is approached in delicacy by our Wheatear, which is termed the English Ortolan.
Eccentricities of the Animal Creation.
John Timbs
The migrations of the Wheatear must be performed very quickly.
Among the Birds in Northern Shires
Charles Dixon
The migrations of the Wheatear are practically coincident in date.
Among the Birds in Northern Shires
Charles Dixon
One would not expect to find a wheatear in a wood, or a wren in a reed-bed.
Birds in Flight
W. P. Pycraft

British Dictionary definitions for wheatear

wheatear

noun

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)

Word Origin for wheatear

C16: back formation from wheatears (wrongly taken as plural), probably from white + arse; compare Dutch witstaart, French culblanc white tail

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for wheatear

type of bird, 1590s, back-formation from white-ears, literally "white-arse" (see white + arse). So called for its color markings; cf. French name for the bird, cul-blanc, literally "white rump."