WHEATEAR (Oenanthe oenanthe)
The Wheatear is a bird of the mountains in Switzerland - occurring only above the tree line between about 1800m - 2800m, a landscape of scrubby vegetation
WHEATEAR (Oenanthe oenanthe)
The Wheatear is a bird of the mountains in Switzerland - occurring only above the tree line between about 1800m - 2800m, a landscape of scrubby vegetation and rocks. Its plumage matches well with the latter and it can be very hard to find, and even harder to get close to as it is a nervous bird and your approach is obvious! The name Wheatear has nothing to do with the fine black ear coverts sported by the male, but is actually a corruption of the old English slang term for it - "white-arse" - because guess what? That white rump is often the sign that gives it away as it flies away from you.
Its song is very complex, a rapid snatched phrase of all sorts of warbling, scratching and rattling sounds, often delivered form a perch which is raised above the rest of the land - even if this is only a slightly higher rock:
The complexity is easily seen in the sonogram:
Both those recordings were made in early summer with a full flush of insects buzzing in the background - the hover flies in particular are impressive in the Swiss mountains!
The song can also be delivered in a short flight where the bird almost hovers, maybe 10 m up fluttering above its territory, yelling out its song to the ground below, in this case the delivery is more hectic and aggressive, listen to the two phrases at 2s and 20 s in the following:
But Wheatears are capable of all sorts of other sounds, this bird made a set of piercing noises almost like screams:
That screaming noise making a very different pattern in the sonogram and you c