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The Northern wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) is a bird found in Sweden, Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and 1 more countries. Open stony land and fields across Europe and Asia; winters in Africa. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, fruit and seeds and nuts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Northern wheatear lives

Open stony land and fields across Europe and Asia; winters in Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐛 Insects & bugs70%
• 🍎 Fruit20%
• 🌰 Seeds & nuts10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Northern wheatear

Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL (CC0), xeno-canto XC1182674. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Northern wheatear

Where does the Northern wheatear live?

The Northern wheatear lives in Sweden, Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and 1 more countries. Open stony land and fields across Europe and Asia; winters in Africa.

What does the Northern wheatear eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 70%), fruit (about 20%), seeds and nuts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Northern wheatear endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Europe

• Mallard
• European Robin
• Mute Swan
• White Stork
• Barn Swallow
• Great Tit

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.