male summer

male summer female European distribution male singing

Identification

Male Redstarts are delightfully gaudy birds, especially when flashing their red tails, trying to attract their partner to a potential nest site. The eye-catching red tail separates the Redstart from all other small birds except the darker, duller Black Redstart. Even the dullest female Redstarts have a pale throat and hints of orange in their underparts, unlike Black Redstarts.

Habitat

Breeds mostly in deciduous woods, but also on heaths, parkland and moorland edges.

Behaviour

When a male has attracted a female to a territory he sometimes performs a display in which he crouches down facing her with his wings raised and tail partly fanned to show the red colour of the tail and underwing. He also carries out various displays to show off potential nest sites to the female. These usually involve perching in or near the nest hole displaying either the white forehead or the vivid red tail and often singing at the same time.

Migration

A migratory bird that winters in sub-Saharan Africa and south-west Arabia.

This information is taken from the BirdFile on the appropriate BirdGuides DVD-ROM. As well as video and sounds, our CD- and DVD-ROMs contain additional text on Voice, Sexing, Ageing, Food, Nests and Eggs and more.

For the purposes of our bird news services, Common Redstart is classed as Common: common species, including species that are certain or probable escapees from captivity when occurring in the British Isles. (Note that rarity levels are currently applied nationally and may not reflect local variations in abundance.)

Filey, N Yorks 11/10/2009	Filey, N Yorks 11/10/2009	St Marys, Scilly 11/10/2009	Black Sea Coast, Bulgaria 17/09/2009	Black Sea Coast, Bulgaria 17/09/2009
Sammy's Pt, E Yorks 19/09/2009	Sammy's Pt, E Yorks 20/09/2009	Spurn, E Yorks 21/09/2009	Sammy's Pt, E Yorks 20/09/2009	Sammy's Pt, E Yorks 20/09/2009

 View all pictures of Common Redstart

Common Redstart breeds in the following countries (Bird News Extra subscribers will see population statistics and information on trends for each country):

Albania
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Britain
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lichtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Moldova
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia and Montenegro
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine

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