Hooded Wheatear

The hooded wheatear (Oenanthe monacha) is a wheatear, a small insectivorous passerine that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. == Taxonomy and etymology == This species is placed in the genus Oenanthe that was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816. The generic name, Oenanthe, is also the name of a plant genus, the water dropworts, and is derived from the Greek ainos "wine" and anthos "flower", from the wine-like scent of the flowers. In the case of the wheatear, it refers to the northern wheatears' return to Greece in the spring at the time that the grapevines blossom. The specific monacha is from late latin "monachus", monk; meaning hooded. Its English name has nothing to do with wheat or with ear, but is an altered (perhaps bowdlerised) form of white-arse, which refers to its prominent white rump. The hooded wheatear is a monotypic species. == Description == This wheatear has a body length of 15.5–17 cm (6.1–6.7 in), a wingspan of 29–30 cm (11–12 in), and weighs 18–20 grams (0.63–0.71 oz). In summer the male is a white…