Friday’s Feathered Friends- American Redstart

Posted in Bird Photography, birding, Friday's Feathered Friends, Nature, Nikon, SpringTagged , , , ,

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Going back to my Spring trip to Ohio for these images. The American Redstart male.

He’s a Warbler. I’m on the edge of it’s range. If only one or two would stray a bit further west I wouldn’t have needed to go to Ohio to this one. 😂

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//circadianreflections.com
©Deborah M. Zajac | http//circadianreflections.com

Here’s an audio clip of its song.

https://www.bird-sounds.net/american-redstart/

Fun Fact:

  • Like the Painted Redstart and other “redstarts” of the Neotropics, the American Redstart flashes the bright patches in its tail and wings. This seems to startle insect prey and give the birds an opportunity to catch them. Though these birds share a common name, they are not closely related to each other. In fact, there are other unrelated birds around the world—such as the fantails of Australia and southeastern Asia, and other redstarts of Europe—that share the same foraging tricks.
  • Young male American Redstarts have gray-and-yellow plumage, like females, until their second fall. Yearling males sing vigorously in the attempt to hold territories and attract mates. Some succeed, but most do not breed successfully until the following year when they develop black-and-orange breeding plumage.
  • The male American Redstart sometimes has two mates at the same time. While many other polygamous bird species involve two females nesting in the same territory, the redstart holds two separate territories that can be separated by a quarter-mile. The male begins attracting a second female after the first has completed her clutch and is incubating the eggs.
  • The oldest American Redstart was at least 10 years and one month old, when he was recaptured and rereleased during a banding operation in Ontario.

Fun facts gleaned from allaboutbirds.org

I may be late replying this morning as I’m starting my week-end birding a new to me area in South Lake Tahoe. I hope you all have a great day and week-end.

more to come…

39 thoughts on “Friday’s Feathered Friends- American Redstart”

  2. Deborah, these are awesome images. We have had a male and female around here for a few days, but they remained high in the canopy of tall cottonwood trees. They are also not common in our area at all. The last time one was seen in our county was 2017, I believe.

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  3. Excellent captures. I had never heard of this beautiful bird before so I went to the Missouri Department of Conservation to see if it is in Missouri. Turns out it is found statewide and is a favorite of the St. Louis area. It did say why it was a favorite. Even though it is found statewide, it is a migratory bird for us during two months in the spring and two months in the fall. It would appear its favored habitat doe not lend itself to being a suburban bird.

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  14. When I saw this in my Reader, I thought, Oh wow, the redstarts have made it to the west. haha. Then I read it and saw this was an Ohio adventure. Really a treat to see this, Deborah, thanks for the great photos and info. And have fun birding in South Lake Tahoe. Yay!

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  16. I particularly enjoy photos of birds engaged in singing; this one’s lovely. I’ve heard of redstarts, but don’t remember seeing a photo of one. Like the red-winged blackbird, this one’s patches of bright color really stand out.

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