Northern Wheatear

Oenanthe oenanthe

Silhouette: Charles J. Sharp · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Chordates)
ClassAves (Birds)
OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
FamilyMuscicapidae (Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats)
GenusOenanthe (Wheatears and Allies)
SpeciesOenanthe oenanthe (Northern Wheatear)

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

at Lake Mburo National Park

1 Verified sightings at Lake Mburo National Park From 2019 to 2026

13,377 Verified sightings across all 56 parks From 2019 to 2026

☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Northern Wheatear

The northern wheatear or wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It is the most widespread member of the wheatear genus Oenanthe in Europe and North and Central Asia. The northern wheatear is a migratory insectivorous species breeding in open stony country in Europe and east across the Palearctic with footholds in northeastern Canada and Greenland as well as in northwestern Canada and Alaska. It nests in rock crevices and rabbit burrows. All birds spend most of their winter in Africa.

The northern wheatear belongs to a distinctive group of Old World flycatchers, known as chats, that were formerly thought to be thrushes. Genetic analysis showed that they were in fact a type of flycatcher (Muscicapidae), with the resemblance to thrushes being the result of convergent evolution. The northern wheatear was first formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae as Motacilla oenanthe. The species is now placed in the genus Oenanthe that was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816. The generic name, Oenanthe, is also the... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Lake Mburo National Park

Oenanthe familiaris

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Oenanthe isabellina

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Cossypha heuglini

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible

Myrmecocichla nigra

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible

Erythropygia leucophrys

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Erythropygia hartlaubi

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Muscicapa aquatica

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Cossypha niveicapilla

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Myioparus plumbeus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Melaenornis edolioides

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Dioptrornis fischeri

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Melaenornis pammelaina

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

See all 12 relatives Show fewer

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Daily sighting probability
1	Hohe Tauern National Park	🇦🇹 Austria	~40%
2	Vanoise National Park	🇫🇷 France	~40%
3	Aigüestortes National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	~30%
4	Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	~30%
5	Mercantour National Park	🇫🇷 France	~30%
6	Picos de Europa National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	~30%
7	Kidepo Valley National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	~20%
8	Ecrins National Park	🇫🇷 France	~20%
9	Cévennes National Park	🇫🇷 France	~20%
10	Pyrénées National Park	🇫🇷 France	~20%
11	Awash National Park	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	~20%
12	Samburu National Reserve	🇰🇪 Kenya	~20%
13	Nairobi National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	~10%
14	Wadden Sea National Park	🇩🇪 Germany	~10%
15	Tsavo West National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	~10%
16	Meru National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	~10%
17	Sierra de Guadarrama National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	~10%
18	Masai Mara National Reserve	🇰🇪 Kenya	~10%
19	Hortobágy National Park	🇭🇺 Hungary	~10%
20	Serengeti National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	~10%
21	Cairngorms National Park	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	~10%
22	Amboseli National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	~10%
23	Snowdonia National Park	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	~10%
24	Ngorongoro Conservation Area	🇹🇿 Tanzania	~10%
25	Tsavo East National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	~10%
26	Sierra Nevada National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	~10%
27	Murchison Falls National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	~10%
28	Fertő-Hanság National Park	🇭🇺 Hungary	~10%
29	Kiskunság National Park	🇭🇺 Hungary	~10%
30	Lake Nakuru National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	~10%
31	Biebrza National Park	🇵🇱 Poland	~10%
32	Doñana National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	~10%
33	Vatnajokull National Park	🇮🇸 Iceland	~10%
34	Thingvellir National Park	🇮🇸 Iceland	~10%
35	Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park	🇲🇳 Mongolia	~10%
36	Triglav National Park	🇸🇮 Slovenia	~10%
37	Aberdare National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	<5%
38	Camargue	🇫🇷 France	<5%
39	Gauja National Park	🇱🇻 Latvia	<5%
40	Białowieża National Park	🇵🇱 Poland	<5%
41	Mkomazi National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	<5%
42	Monfragüe National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	<5%
43	Ruaha National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	<5%
44	Tatra National Park	🇸🇰 Slovakia	<5%
45	Tarangire National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	<5%
46	Bavarian Forest National Park	🇩🇪 Germany	<5%
47	Denali National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
48	Queen Elizabeth National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	<5%
49	Virunga National Park	🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	<5%
50	Bale Mountains National Park	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	Insufficient data
51	Arusha National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	Insufficient data
52	Plitvice Lakes National Park	🇭🇷 Croatia	Insufficient data
53	Liwonde National Park	🇲🇼 Malawi	Insufficient data
54	Addo Elephant National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	Insufficient data
55	Lake Manyara National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	Insufficient data
56	Lake Mburo National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	Insufficient data

← Back to Lake Mburo National Park

Northern Wheatear

About the Northern Wheatear

Recent sightings of Northern Wheatear in Lake Mburo National Park

Closest Relatives at Lake Mburo National Park

Familiar Chat

Isabelline Wheatear

White-browed Robin-Chat

Sooty Chat

White-browed Scrub Robin

Brown-backed Scrub Robin

Swamp Flycatcher

Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat

Grey Tit-Flycatcher

Northern Black-Flycatcher

White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher

Southern Black Flycatcher

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found