Northern Wheatear

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Northern Wheatear in the UK

The Wheatear is a summer visitor and passage migrant, in Britain from early March to late October. About 170,000 pairs breed in the UK, mainly in the north and west: upland England, Wales, Scotland and the islands. It is Amber-listed after a 37% fall between 1995 and 2024. It winters in Africa south of the Sahara. A second population, the larger and brighter Greenland race, passes through in late April and May and again in autumn on its way to and from Greenland and Arctic Canada, one of the longest journeys made by any songbird.

Where and when to see a Northern Wheatear

For breeding birds, walk upland sheep pasture with stone walls, scree or Rabbit burrows from April to July: Dartmoor, the Welsh hills, the Pennines, the Lake District and the Highlands and islands. On passage it can turn up on any short turf. Check coastal headlands, clifftop grass, shingle, golf courses, playing fields and ploughed land. The first males reach the south coast in the first half of March. Autumn passage runs from August to October, with coasts and islands best after overnight cloud or rain.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Open uplands, coastal grass (summer).
Diet: Insects.
Field note: White rump in flight; long migrant.

How to identify a Northern Wheatear

A little bigger than a Robin, upright and long-legged, always on the ground or a low perch. Every plumage shows a gleaming white rump and a white tail with a black upside-down T at the end, obvious as it flies away low. Spring males are blue-grey above with a black mask, black wings and a peach-buff breast. Females are sandy brown with a faint pale eyebrow. Autumn birds of both sexes are warm buff. It runs in short bursts, stops, bobs and flicks its tail.

Call and song

Call is a hard "chack", like two pebbles knocked together, often paired with a whistled "hweet". The song is a short, scratchy warble mixed with whistles and mimicry, given from a rock or in a brief fluttering song flight. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Whinchat: Whinchat perches on plant stems, has a bold pale eyebrow and a streaked brown rump, with white only at the tail sides.
• European Stonechat: Stonechat is smaller and rounder, sits on gorse tops, and has no white tail base.
• Isabelline Wheatear: This rare vagrant is paler, plainer and longer-legged with a broader black tail band and pale wings that barely contrast with the back.

Month by month

A summer visitor, typically in the UK from March to October. Numbers peak in April. See the April birding guide for what else is about. More on the season in Bird migration in Britain.

Taller bars mean more birds about. Grey means it is usually absent.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Northern Wheatear is an Uncommon tier bird, worth +3 points when you log one. It is Amber-listed in Birds of Conservation Concern 5, the middle level of concern in the UK.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Desert WheatearRare · Coastal turf (vagrant)
• Isabelline WheatearEpic · Coastal turf (very rare)
• Pied WheatearEpic · Coastal turf (very rare)
• Black WheatearLegendary · Rocky areas (extreme vagrant)
• Black-eared WheatearEpic · Stony Med hillsides
• Cyprus Pied WheatearLegendary · Stony ground (extreme vagrant)

Northern Wheatear: quick answers

When is the best time to see a Wheatear in the UK?

Mid March to early May for spring migrants, when smart males appear on coasts and hilltops well away from breeding areas. August and September bring bigger numbers on the way south, including many young birds. On the breeding hills they are easiest in May and June.

Where does the name Wheatear come from?

Nothing to do with wheat or ears. It comes from an old English phrase meaning "white arse", after the white rump that flashes when the bird flies off.

What does a Wheatear eat?

Insects and other invertebrates picked from bare ground and short grass: beetles, ants, flies, caterpillars and spiders. That is why it needs closely grazed turf. Where sheep or Rabbits are removed and the grass grows long, Wheatears move out.

Kit that helps

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