Before I dive into details, three things are important to keep in mind: (1)
Northern Wheatears (NOWH) undergo a complete molt (i.e. they molt body
feathers AND their tail and flight feathers) at the end of summer, so this
bird is wearing all new feathers. (2) That warm ochre/brown coloration is
just on the feather tips, and wears off over the winter. (3) Males and
females are tough if not impossible to reliably ID in their basic/winter
plumage, and aging is nearly impossible. But that shouldn't stop us from
trying anyway, just in case this bird shows us enough detail to narrow it
down a bit!  :-)

Photos below (from Birding Ohio on Facebook and flickr.com) show some of
the key field marks.

That said, here are my thoughts on the age, sex and subspecies ID of the
Headlands bird:


*Subspecies? I'm not sure, but probably "Greenland." Again, I'm not
certain. *

Northern Wheatear (NOWH) are a "holarctic" species and of the four
recognized subspecies, two of them live up north and could show up as
vagrants in the lower 48.  Their their range extends from Alaska across
Asia and Europe (nominate subspecies O. o. oenanthe) to Iceland, Greenland
and Labrador (Greenland race O. o. leucorhoa).  For more on their taxonomy,
see http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/northern-wheatear-oenanthe-oenanthe

By range, the Headlands bird is likely of the Greenland race O. o.
leucorhoa which averages more richly colored underparts as seen on this
bird.  BUT some members of the nominate subspecies also show this rich
coloration, and it's not impossible that one of the Alaskan birds
mistakenly flew to Ohio instead of to Asia, so we can't be certain.  I'm
not sure what is known about how many of the fall eastern North American
birds are known to be of one race or the other.


*Sex? Probably male, but I'd love to hear from others with more expertise.*
*Age? Not sure.*

According to this 2001 email from Angus Wilson on the ID Frontiers list (a
place for discussing cutting edge ID challenges, not for asking about ID
help unless it fits into pushing the boundaries of bird ID knowledge) aging
birds is very hard unless you basically catch them (or photograph them
yawning in great light).  If you've heard of the "Pyle" guide banders use
for bird ID, Svensson (1992) is the European equivalent.  Regarding
subspecies ID and aging (from the email at the link povided below)...

Svensson in his Identification Guide to European Passerines (4th ed, 1992,
British Trust for Ornithology, the Nunnery, Norfolk.)  the European Pyle -
says re separation of leucorhoa from oenanthe "Identification of single
birds in autumn is rarely possible except by size as some northern birds of
the nominate subspecies have rather distinctly rufous-buff plumage." (There
is an overlap in wing length, so this is only useful for the biggest birds
in the hand.)

Re: ageing in autumn he says " Ad.: Inside of upper mandible grey-black or
black. 1Y.: Inside of upper mandible partly yellow." You would have to be
pretty lucky to see that without catching it! Re: sexing in autumn: "Ad
male: Lores black, ear-C blackish tipped brown, supercilium (and forehead
in many) white. 1Y male/all females: Lores brown-balck (or paler brown with
indistinct dark stripe), ear-C (dark) brown, supercilium creamy-white or
buffish."

The account in Jenni and Winkler, Moult and ageing of European Passerines
(1994) is rather lengthier but essentially the same. Sometimes one can make
out a moult limit in the greater coverts which clinches a 1Y bird (but only
in about 29 per cent of birds apparently and then usually in the innermost
coverts). They do add that "ad males can always be recognised by the dark
black colour of the whole wing and the greyish, not yellowish-brown outer
fringes of the GC."


(via http://www.virtualbirder.com/bmail/idfrontiers/200109/w3/index.html#10)

Regarding age... If we get some nice shots of the inside of the mouth, we
might have a better idea.  BUT, we do see that "ad males can always be
recognized by the dark black colour of the whole wing and the greyish, no
yellowish-brown outer fringes of the [greater coverts]."!!!  Looking at
this flight shot by Dale Gaul (to the Birding Ohio facebook group) and
letting my imagination wear all those fresh buffy edges off the wing
feathers, I see a lot of black :-)

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/t31.0-8/10687487_262276707314730_6682121109344184813_o.jpg

Also note the white forehead, distinct white supercillium, black lores etc.
of the face seem consistent with this being a male.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/29655079@N02/15167659726/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pauljhurtado/15008228798/in/photostream/

So I think we can be very optimistic that this is a male, probably a
Greenland bird.  Age is up in the air for me still.  I'll post a follow-up
with more photos and details if things progress beyond what's above.

Thoughts?

--
Paul J. Hurtado
Postdoctoral Fellow, The Ohio State University
Mathematical Biosciences Institute, http://mbi.osu.edu/
Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, http://ael.osu.edu/

E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Webpage: http://people.mbi.ohio-state.edu/hurtado.10

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