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Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) Alternate name(s): "Redstart*" Alternate name(s): "Gartenrotschwanz" Size: 13-14.5 cm; wing span: 20.5-24 cm Body mass: 11-23 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: ca. 0.18

Europe: Family Group 19 Family Group 19 Table European Robin Common Redstart Black Redstart Bluethroat Whinchat European Stonechat Common Rock Thrush Blue Rock Thrush Common Nightingale Northern Wheatear Isabelline Wheatear Eastern Black-eared Wheatear Black Wheatear White-throated Dipper Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Common Redstarts are robin-sized birds. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Male Common Redstarts have a mostly black face (frons, lores, ear coverts, chin), under a white bar across the forehead that extends above both eyes as supercilia. The cap and the nape of the neck, the mantle and the upperwing coverts are grey. The front, the rump and and the outer upperwing feathers are rich rusty-red, while the inner uppertail feathers are grey to grey-brown. Female Common Redstarts are much less conspicuous than males. They are almost entirely grey-brown, with a buff tint on the chest and a lighter grey chin. Also the belly, vent and undertail coverts are light-grey to light grey-brown. Only the rump and the outer uppertail feathers are rufous. They have inconspicuous light-grey eye-rings. The irises of both sexes are black. The slender, straight bill is dark-grey; the legs and feet are also dark-grey. First-winter, immature males largely resemble females, but with a vermiculated front.

Taxonomy, classification See Common Redstart at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Common Redstart is available HERE . Common Redstarts are a migratory species. Apart from some patches in north-western Africa and Iberia, they breed mainly in western, central and eastern Europe (including the western part of England and all of Scotland - but not Ireland, all of Scandinavia, northern Italy, the major mountain ranges and the Balkans) and on into western and central Asia. They are also found breeding on the Crimea peninsula, in and around the Caucasus mountains and in parts of Asia Minor and via the Euphrates/Tigris river basin into parts of the Middle East. The two extant races, "phoenicurus" (mostly Europe and northern/central Asia) and "samamisicus" (mostly Middle East and southern/central Asia) intergrade in the region from the Balkans to Asia Minor. During their migration they can be found in all of the rest of Europe, much of the Middle East and northern Africa. They winter in sub-Saharan Africa North of the equator and in Arabia. In Europe Common Redstarts are found mostly in western England/Wales/Scotland and, on the continent, (apart from some isolated patches in Iberia) from France, the Benelux countries and Italy eastwards. Common Restarts are usually found in wooded areas, such as scrub, woodland and forest, but also in gardens and parks.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "phoenicurus" D. Wilczynska reports spotting Common Redstarts, nominate race "phoenicurus", regularly in Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland. J. Pires reports ringing a Common Redstart, race "phoenicurus", at Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, in October 2019. Another was found at Mora, Evora, Portugal, in August 2025. G. Normand found a Common Redstart, race "phoenicurus", at Parc departemental de la Haute Ile, Seine-Saint-Denis, France, in April 2021. A. Sarok reports finding Common Redstarts, race "phoenicurus", in Vojvodina, Serbia, in the timeframe 2010-2024.

Photos

Race "phoenicurus"

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, June 2015]

Near-frontal view of a male Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, May 2015]

Near-frontal view of a male Common Redstart (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Near-lateral view of a male Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, June 2015]

Near-lateral view of a male Common Redstart (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Near-lateral view of a male Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, June 2015]

Lateral view of a male Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, May 2015]

Near-dorsal view of a male Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, July 2015]

Near-dorsal view of a male Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, July 2015]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, May 2015]

Different frontal view of a female Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, May 2015]

Near-frontal view of a female Common Redstart with its head turned away (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, May 2015]

Lateral view of a female Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, June 2015]

Different lateral view of a female Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, June 2015]

Near-dorsal view of a female Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, May 2015]

Dorsal view of a female Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, July 2015]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of an immature male Common Redstart looking towards the observer (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, August 2025]

Frontal view of a first-winter male Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, July 2015]

Lateral view of a first-winter male Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, July 2015]

Lateral view of a first-winter male Common Redstart caught, ringed and released on its migration to Africa
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Dorsal view of a first-winter male Common Redstart caught, ringed and released on its migration to Africa
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Near-frontal view of a begging fledgling Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, June 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a fledgling Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, June 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a fledgling Common Redstart (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, July 2016]

Female Common Redstart, back, with a dependent fledgling (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, June 2018]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Migratory

Elementary unit: Solitary

Food, Diet

Common Redstarts are flycatchers.

Frontal view of a male Common Redstart with its prey, a grasshopper (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, July 2015]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

comstrt_jp_20230514.m4a	phoenicurus (Portugal)	Territorial song (male)	© JP
comstrt_jp_20230514_2.m4a	phoenicurus (Portugal)	Territorial song (male)	© JP
comstrt_dw_20160612_2.m4a	phoenicurus (Poland)	Pair Q&A (male first)	© DW
comstrt_dw_20160612_3.m4a	phoenicurus (Poland)	Pair Q&A (male first)	© DW
comstrt_dw_20190630.m4a	phoenicurus (Poland)	Pair Q&A (territorial calls?)	© DW
comstrt_dw_20160612.m4a	phoenicurus (Poland)	Male & female	© DW
comstrt_dw_20160612_4.m4a	phoenicurus (Poland)	Female	© DW

More Common Redstart sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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