The wheatears /ˈhwiːtɪər/ are passerine birds of the genus Oenanthe. They were formerly considered to be members of the thrush family Turdidae, but are now more commonly placed in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae. This is an Old World group, but the northern wheatear has established a foothold in eastern Canada and Greenland and in western Canada and Alaska.

The name "wheatear" is not derived from "wheat" or any sense of "ear", but is a 16th-century linguistic corruption of "white" and "arse", referring to the prominent white rump found in most species.

Oenanthe is also the name of a plant genus, the water dropworts, and is derived from the Greek oenos (οίνος) "wine" and anthos (ανθός) "flower". In the case of the plant genus, it refers to the wine-like scent of the flowers. In the case of the wheatear, it refers to the Northern wheatear's return to Greece in the spring just as the grapevines blossom.

Most species have characteristic black and white or red and white markings on their rumps or their long tails. Most species are strongly sexually dimorphic; only the male has the striking plumage patterns characteristic of the genus, though the females share the white or red rump patches.


Abyssinian wheatear, Oenanthe lugubris
Arabian wheatear, Oenanthe lugentoides
Black wheatear, Oenanthe leucura
Black-eared wheatear, Oenanthe hispanica
Capped wheatear, Oenanthe pileata
Cyprus wheatear, Oenanthe cypriaca
Desert wheatear, Oenanthe deserti
Finsch's wheatear, Oenanthe finschii
Heuglin's wheatear, Oenanthe heuglini
Hooded wheatear, Oenanthe monacha
Hume's wheatear, Oenanthe alboniger
Isabelline wheatear, Oenanthe isabellina
Kurdish wheatear, Oenanthe xanthoprymna
Mountain wheatear, Oenanthe monticola
Mourning or Schalow’s wheatear, Oenanthe lugens
Northern wheatear, Oenanthe oenanthe
Pied wheatear, Oenanthe pleschanka
Red-breasted wheatear, Oenanthe bottae
Red-rumped wheatear, Oenanthe moesta
Red-tailed wheatear, Oenanthe chrysopygia
Somali wheatear, Oenanthe phillipsi
Variable wheatear, Oenanthe picata
White-crowned wheatear, Oenanthe leucopyga