Flash! Start!

American Redstarts are migratory warblers found across parts of North America. They winter in the Caribbean and parts of Central and South America. These little cuties are named for their tails. Wait, what?

In Old English, the word for tail was steort, or start. Though the American Redstart's tail feathers are more orange than red, we can at least understand from where the 'start' part of the name comes. There is an entire family of birds found in the Old World known as redstarts. These are flycatchers, not warblers. American Redstarts are warblers, but they feed mainly by flycatching. Confused yet? If you were an insect, you might be. American Redstarts flare their tails to flash, startle and confuse potential prey items (insects). Both males and females do this, as you can see in the below photos.

American Redstart
American Redstart [male] by Wildreturn
American Redstart (female)
American Redstart (female) by Jeremy Meyer

The American Redstart was added to Birdorable on October 18, 2012. If you can't get enough of these flashy little warblers, be sure to check out our great collection of American Redstart t-shirts and gifts!

Comments

Stuart Murray on May 27, 2016 at 10:16 PM wrote:
Saw one of these in a lilac bush at our farm in SW Saskatchewan!
Bird kingπŸ¦‰πŸ¦…πŸ€πŸ¦πŸ§πŸ”πŸ£πŸ₯πŸ¦† on September 25, 2017 at 2:29 PM wrote:
😍 LOVEIT
Spurwing Plover on July 5, 2022 at 2:59 AM wrote:
I do beleive their related to the Warblers

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