Common Redstart

The common redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) is a small, slender Old World flycatcher breeding across Europe and much of western and central Asia. Adults are about 13–14.5 cm long and weigh roughly 14–15 g. Breeding males are striking, with a white forehead, black face and throat, slate-grey crown and back, orange-red breast and flanks, and a vivid orange-red tail. Females are much more subdued, with warm brown-grey plumage but the same conspicuous orange tail.

The constantly quivering red tail is one of the easiest field marks in both sexes. The main confusion species is the black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros), but male common redstarts have brighter orange underparts and a white forehead, while females are generally warmer and paler. Habitat also helps: common redstarts are strongly associated with trees and semi-open woodland, whereas black redstarts more often favour rocky or built environments.

Common redstarts favour open woodland, old orchards, parks, gardens and mature pine or deciduous forest where nesting cavities occur close to open feeding patches. The amount and arrangement of low vegetation matter as much as the presence of trees. Studies in Central Europe found that occupied territories contained more sparsely vegetated ground than nearby unused areas, because open patches make ground-dwelling prey easier to detect and capture.

This combination of mature trees, cavities, perches and short or broken ground vegetation helps explain why traditional orchards, open woodland and park-like landscapes can be particularly suitable. Dense undergrowth throughout a territory may make prey harder to reach even where insect abundance is high.

The diet consists mainly of insects, larvae, spiders and other small invertebrates, with berries and other fruit taken especially later in the season. Birds hunt from low perches, dropping to the ground for prey or making short aerial sallies.

The common redstart is a long-distance migrant. Most European birds leave in late summer and early autumn and winter in dry habitats across the Sahel south of the Sahara, returning north in spring.

A tracking study of five adults breeding in eastern Denmark revealed a distinct loop migration. In autumn the birds travelled west of the Mediterranean and south along the north-west African coast before turning inland toward wintering areas mainly in southern Mali and northern Burkina Faso. Spring migration was more direct, north toward the Iberian Peninsula and then back to northern Europe. The tracked birds generally remained within one main wintering area rather than continually following seasonal rainfall across Africa.

Common redstarts are cavity nesters. The female builds the nest in natural tree holes, old woodpecker cavities, nest boxes or sheltered openings in buildings and other structures. Males usually return first in spring and establish territories around suitable nesting and feeding habitat.

The species is predominantly socially monogamous, although occasional polygyny occurs. A Norwegian paternity study of redstarts breeding in nest boxes at Trysil and Røros found that only 2% of 253 chicks were fathered by an extra-pair male.

A typical clutch contains 5–7 eggs. The female incubates the eggs for roughly two weeks, while both parents feed the chicks after hatching. Young normally leave the cavity after about another two weeks and remain dependent on the adults for a period afterwards. Suitable breeding territories therefore combine a secure cavity with nearby open, prey-rich feeding ground, and greater amounts of open ground have been associated with larger clutches.

The common redstart is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List. It remains widespread across Europe and western Asia.

British monitoring data show a sharp decline in the late 1960s and early 1970s, followed by a long recovery. The breeding population has been broadly stable over the long term, although its distribution remains more restricted than historically. The earlier crash was linked to severe drought in the Sahel, illustrating how conditions on African wintering grounds can strongly affect a European breeding bird. Loss of old orchards, cavity trees and sparsely vegetated feeding areas can also reduce habitat quality locally.