Oenanthe hispanica
Silhouette: Mathieu Pélissié · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The western 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 considered to be an Old World flycatcher (family Muscicapidae). It was formerly (and still is by some authorities) considered conspecific with the eastern black-eared wheatear.
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. 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.
The female is a browner bird, but has the characteristic white lower back, and her seasonal changes are less marked. The male western black-eared wheatear... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Western Black-eared Wheatear sighting in Ankara on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 61st most-seen of the 72 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Western Black-eared Wheatear in Ankara on a given day, against under 5% in October to August, the lowest months. That is one of Ankara's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain against 50 mm in May.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Western Black-eared Wheatear sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 8
Of the 8 cities where we can rate Western Black-eared Wheatear sightings, Ankara ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Ramallah (Palestine, about 10%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the Western Black-eared Wheatear that you can see in Ankara (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are European Robin (about 40%), Spotted Flycatcher (about 20%) and Collared Flycatcher (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Black-eared Wheatear is recorded against all the birds logged in Ankara (6 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
