Common Redstart

The wall nightingale, as it was formerly often called Common Redstart because of its reddishness and pleasant song, is a remarkable bird. The species has a strong sexual dimorphism. The nuptial male is easy to identify with its lower parts a bright orange-red, black head covering the forehead, the lores, parotids, cheeks and throat, and the white spot on the front of the cap which continues over the eyes, in strong contrast to the black underside. The orange color can be seen at the rump, the upperside of the tail and the outer rectrices, which can only be seen in flight and thus justifies the name of redstart. At rest, this color is hidden by the closed wings and the brownish central rectrices. The upper parts (top of the head, nape, mantle, and back) are gray-brown while the wings are darker, especially when the feathers are worn. The eye, very dark, blends into the black mask. The beak and feet are black. The female is more discreet, in its plumage as in its behavior. Its upper parts are brown-beige, darker brown on the wings and without gray nuances. The dark eye is surrounded by a fairly clear ocular ring. The underside is of a characteristic pale fawn, often speckled in appearance, with the throat and undertail a little clearer. It may be that with age, the throat darkens slightly. Upperside of the tail and tail are identical to those of the male. The young bird leaving the nest has a mottled appearance on the upper side, scaly on the underside, typical of the juvenile Muscicapids. After the first molt, he will become very similar to his mother. By the end of summer, the young male can be recognized by its grayer upper parts, its reddish undersides and its darker throat.The male of the subspecies samamisicus is characterized by a pale spot on the wing, formed by the white edges of the secondary and tertiary remiges, similar to the male Common Black Redstart. This is clearly seen in the field. The female Common Redstart can be confused with the female Common Black Redstart if one does not pay attention to the shade of its plumage which is always gray in the latter. The male, on the other hand, could theoretically be confused in the east of its range with a male Common Black Redstart of one of the subspecies with a reddish belly such as the aptly named ssp phoenicuroïdes which moreover can have a little white on the forehead. And to complicate matters, this subspecies is known to hybridize with the Common Redstart, producing confusing hybrids. Nevertheless, a male Common Redstart can always be recognized by its restricted black throat.