Common Redstart

The Common Redstart is a summer-visiting songbird whose most distinctive feature, in both life and feather, is its bright orange-red tail, constantly quivered as the bird perches.

Breeding males combine this fiery tail with a slate-grey back, black face and throat, and an orange breast, making them one of the more strikingly patterned small woodland birds.

Females and juveniles are much duller brown-buff, but still show the diagnostic reddish tail.

Size & Shape

• Tail feathers are proportionally bright and are the single most diagnostic feature, being a vivid rufous-orange in both sexes.
• Body feathers are otherwise typical small-songbird proportions.

Color & Pattern

• Male upperpart feathers: slate-grey back, black face and throat, white forehead patch.
• Male underparts: orange-red breast fading to whitish belly.
• Female/juvenile feathers: brown-grey above, buffy-orange below, much duller than the male but retaining the orange-red tail.
• Tail feathers in both sexes: bright rufous-orange with darker central feathers.

Similar Species

• The bright rufous-orange tail separates Redstart feathers from most other small European songbirds; Black Redstart, a related species, is similar but typically shows sootier overall body plumage with less contrast, though tail color is similarly bright.

Overall Plumage

Males: slate-grey back, black face/throat, white forehead, orange-red breast, rufous-orange tail. Females/juveniles: brown-grey above, buff-orange below, with the same bright tail.

Sex & Age Differences

Males are far more boldly patterned than females; juveniles resemble females but with additional pale spotting on the upperparts before their first molt.

Molt

One complete molt after breeding, often beginning before autumn migration and completing on or near the wintering grounds in Africa.

Habitat

Open woodland, parkland, orchards, and heathland edges with mature trees offering nest holes.

Range

Breeds across Europe and western Asia; winters in sub-Saharan Africa.

Movements

Fully migratory, present in breeding areas from spring to late summer.

Behavior

Perches prominently and constantly quivers its tail, a habit that gives the bird its name and helps distinguish it in life.

Diet

Feeds on insects and other invertebrates, caught on the ground or in short aerial sallies.

Nesting

Nests in a tree hole, wall crevice, or nest box, lined with grass and feathers.

Voice

A short, warbling song, often including mimicry of other species.

Field Notes

A bright rufous-orange tail feather found in open woodland or parkland during the breeding season strongly suggests Redstart; check for a slate-grey or brown-grey body to confirm sex.