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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.

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.

Race "semirufus"

Race "gibraltariensis"