Oenanthe oenanthe

This species breeds in Europe and Asia and is also found in eastern Canada and Greenland. All northern wheatears winter in Africa, so individuals from Greenland and Canada (subspecies leucorhoa) travel remarkable distances across oceans, ice and desert. The northern wheatear therefore holds one of the migratory distance for such a small bird (20g!).

The northern wheatear breeds in open rocky areas. It is often seen perched on a rock, where it surveys its territory and spots its prey. An insectivore, it captures grasshoppers, caterpillars and butterflies on the ground or in flight, to which it adds small molluscs, spiders and, in autumn, berries.

To find out more about the migratory routes of northern wheatears and their flight altitudes, they are captured at their nesting sites in Brittany, particularly on the Ouessant-Molène archipelago. They are equipped with a 0.5g GLS which records the data (approximate geographical positions and precise atmospheric pressure for altitude). In order to collect the data, the GLS must be recovered the following year by recapturing the birds on their return from wintering.

^{Breeding in France} ; ^{Migratory, passing through France}