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19

Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochrurus) Size: 13-14.5 cm; wing span: 23-26 cm Weight: 12-22 g

Oman: Family Group 19 Family Group 19 Table Rufous Bush Robin Black Redstart Common Redstart Blue Rock Thrush Red-tailed Wheatear Isabelline Wheatear Desert Wheatear White-crowned Wheatear Hume's Wheatear Arabian Babbler Thumbnails page Classification table Index of bird names 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 Black Redstarts are robin-sized birds. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Male Black Redstarts of race "semirufus" have a grey crown and an otherwise near-black dark-grey head, neck and chest. This race has a rust-red belly, vent and paler undertail coverts. The back, including the wings, is also all near-black dark-grey. Females of all races are inconspicuous grey-brown, with slightly darker grey wing feathers. The belly and vent are mouse-grey. They have inconspicuous light-grey eye-rings. The tail of both sexes and all races is reddish brown. The irises are black. The straight, slender bill is dark-grey. The legs and feet are also dark-grey. Immature male birds have more vermiculated plumage than adult males.

Taxonomy, classification See Black Redstart at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat 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 Black Redstart is available HERE . Black Redstarts are a mostly migratory species with several extant races (for details refer to a field guide). They are permanent residents in parts of southern and western Europe. In the summer they extend their breeding range into the rest of central, eastern and south-eastern Europe, from the southern Scandinavian coastal areas to the Balkans and from southern England to the Caucasus. They are also permanent residents in some areas of the Atlas mountain range in north-western Africa, in parts of Asia Minor and also in near-coastal areas of the Middle East. The migratory birds from the northern parts of their range spend the winters in near-coastal northern Africa and in parts of Asia Minor and the Middle East and the Arabian peninsula. Other races breed in parts of central and eastern Asia. They are found as far to the East as Mongolia and central China. In passage Black Redstarts can be found in most parts of Arabia, in particular mountainous and rocky terrain, hence also the interior. Black Restarts are usually found in poorly vegetated areas, but in passage will also enter parks and gardens.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "semirufus" Black Redstarts, race "semirufus", were spotted by us on the Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, Oman, in the period December 2009 - February 2010. Race "gibraltariensis" Black Redstarts, race "gibraltariensis", were spotted in Europe.

Photos

Race "semirufus"

Unfortunately, we were able to only take the most basic of photos of this species in Oman.

ADULT

MALE

Near-lateral view of a male Black Redstart; note the half-grey, half-rufous front of this male which gives this race its name
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, February 2010]

Partly obscured lateral view of a male Black Redstart
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, February 2010]

Distant lateral view of a male Black Redstart
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Black Restart
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]

Frontal view of a female Black Restart, different posture
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]

Near-frontal view of a female Black Restart
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, December 2009]

Race "gibraltariensis"

Black Redstarts, race "gibraltariensis", were photographed in Europe.

Food, Diet

Black Redstarts are flycatchers.

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.

brstart_jp_20230221.mp3	gibraltariensis (Portugal)	Territorial calls?	© JP
brstart_dw_20180615.m4a	gibraltariensis (Poland)	Territorial calls? (male)	© DW
brstart_dw_20160612.m4a	gibraltariensis (Poland)	Territorial calls?	© DW
brstart_dw_20160805.m4a	gibraltariensis (Poland)	Territorial calls?	© DW
brstart_dw_20190630.m4a	gibraltariensis (Poland)	Pair Q&A (Territorial calls?)	© DW
brstart_dw_20200711.m4a	gibraltariensis (Poland)	Alarm (human)	© DW
brstart_dw_20160915.m4a	gibraltariensis (Poland)	Various	© DW
brstart_jp_20190606.m4a	gibraltariensis (Portugal)	Various (+ frogs)	© JP

More Black 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.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Sat, 3 June 2023, 20:43 +00:00