Wheatear, Peak District National Park, England Aug 21, 2025

You don"t need to be a bird expert to notice the wheatear darting across open ground. These ground-dwelling songbirds belong to the Oenanthe genus and are known for their upright posture and habit of hopping or sprinting between perches. Despite the name, wheatears have nothing to do with wheat or ears—the name is a twist on the old phrase "white arse,", pointing to the bird"s distinctive white rump found in most species. Globally, there are around 20 species of wheatears. Today"s image features the northern wheatear. It weighs less than a kilogram, but travels thousands of kilometres between its summer homes in Alaska and northern Canada to its wintering grounds in Africa. Its migration route is one of the longest for a bird its size, crossing oceans and continents.

© Ben Hall/Nature Picture Library

palette

Today in History

Aug 21, 2023Emerald Lake, Yukon, Canada
Aug 21, 2024Nazca boobies
Aug 21, 2026Winding road of Julier Pass, Switzerland

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Dec 25, 2024Lakes of Covadonga, Asturias, Spain
Nov 2, 2023Death Valley National Park, California, USA
Mar 26, 2026Logan Creek Suspension Bridge, West Coast Trail, Canada
Aug 26, 2025Trullo buildings in Alberobello, Apulia, Italy
Oct 10, 2026Double-crested cormorants over Monterey Bay, California, USA
Aug 21, 2023Emerald Lake, Yukon, Canada
Apr 4, 2025National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, DC, United States
Oct 1, 2025Clark Range, Yosemite National Park, California, United States
Jan 17, 2024Eurasian wolf
May 14, 2026Pitigliano, Tuscany, Italy
Jul 27, 2025Barracudas at Shark Reef, Ras Mohammed National Park, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
Mar 27, 2025Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Acropolis of Athens, Greece
Nov 27, 2023Río Negro, Amazon basin, Brazil
Apr 12, 2024Arches National Park, Utah, USA
Apr 6, 2026Hirosaki Castle with cherry blossoms, Hirosaki, Japan
Mar 22, 2026Lake Tanganyika, Africa
Jan 26, 2025European beech forest, Belgium
Oct 19, 2024Temple of Hathor, Dendera Temple Complex, Qena, Egypt
Dec 22, 2024Crystal Pier, San Diego, California, United States
Sep 1, 2025Kaiserstuhl, Germany
Feb 7, 2024St. James Tidal Pool, Cape Town, South Africa
May 22, 2024Tasmanian snow gum, Mount Field National Park, Tasmania, Australia
Jan 4, 2025Bản Giốc – Detian Falls, Vietnam
Dec 14, 2023Boreal owl
Jul 12, 2025Thomsons gazelles
Jan 23, 2024Maldives
June 13, 2026Sunset in Badlands National Park, South Dakota, United States
Mar 1, 2024Butterflies in a meadow, Germany
Feb 5, 2026Salt evaporation ponds on the island of Gozo, Malta
Feb 6, 2025Archway Islands, Wharariki Beach, South Island, New Zealand