Capped Wheatear vs Western Black-eared Wheatear

Capped Wheatear

Oenanthe pileata

Small27 gGrassland

The capped wheatear is 17–18 cm long and weighs 32 g. Its legs and pointed bill are black. This common species is striking and unmistakable in appearance. The adult has a black cap, cheeks and breast band, and white eye stripe and throat. The rest of the underparts are white with buff on the flanks and lower belly. Like other wheatears, it has a distinctive tail pattern with a black feathers on the base and centre of the tail forming an inverted T against the otherwise white rump. The juvenile has a brown cap and cheeks, and the breast band is weak and diffuse.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: (c) Derek Keats, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by

Western Black-eared Wheatear

Oenanthe hispanica

Small15 gShrubland

The breeding male 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. A black mask extends from the ear coverts to the bill. The throat can be either black or white. In autumn and winter the head and mantle are distinctly buff, as are the underparts (including the throat in non-black-throated individuals), but the buff varies in intensity.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Eleftherios Katsillis · CC BY 4.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Capped Wheatear and Western Black-eared Wheatear.