Black-eared wheatear

Description

The black-eared wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica) is a wheatear,a small migratory passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae,but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher (family Muscicapidae).This 13.5–15.5 cm (5.3–6.1 in) long insectivorous species is dimorphic with eastern and western races,sometimes split as eastern black-eared wheatear (Oenanthe melanoleuca) and western black-eared wheatear (which then retains the name hispanica).In both forms,birds with or without a black throat are met with.The breeding male of the western form O.h.hispanica of the Iberian peninsula and north Africa has the forehead and crown white or nearly white,the mantle buff,and the wings blacker than those of the northern wheatear.The underparts are white tinged with buff.The back,upper tail coverts and most of the tail are white.The ear coverts and a line from the bill,and sometimes the throat,are black.In autumn and winter the head and mantle are distinctly buff,as are the underparts,including the throat,but the buff varies in intensity.Except for the central pair,the tail feathers are much whiter than in the northern wheatear,the white on the inner web often extending to the tip.