Description
- American Redstarts have sizable chests and long tails. Both males and females have the namesake red-orange coloration on their tails.
- These birds measure anywhere from 4.25 to 5.1 inches long, while they weigh a mere 0.2 to 0.3 ounces.
- Male American Redstarts have black heads, chests, backs, and wings. They have orange patches on their wings and sides in addition to their tails, while their stomachs are white.
- Female American Redstarts have gray heads, gray-green backs, and dark wings. These birds have pale throats and chests, yellow sides, and a white stomach.
- Immature males look much like females, though they may have black coloration developing on the chest or face.
Behavior
- American Redstarts are active birds that frequently hop about in the forest. These warblers commonly flit their wings and tails as they forage as they try to flush insects.
- Watch for these birds to sally out from a perch and capture an insect as a flycatcher would.
Diet
- American Redstarts almost exclusively consume insects, though they occasionally eat berries during certain times of the year.
Habitat
- These warblers may be found in a variety of wooded habitats. During the breeding season, American Redstarts seek out sizable tracts of timber and thickets. They prefer woodlands with a variety of shrubs in the understory, while they may breed in both deciduous and coniferous forests.
- During the winter, American Redstarts can be found in coffee plantations, rainforests, mangroves, and other forested biomes. Watch for American Redstarts to appear in parks, shelterbelts, forests, and woodlots during migration.
Range
- American Redstarts breed throughout eastern North America and Canada. These breeds are not found in the American Southwest, but they breed in the upper tier of western states and western Canada.
- Some American Redstarts winter as far north as southern California and southern Florida, while others travel to the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.
- These warblers migrate through all of Mexico and the United States.
Breeding
- American Redstarts are monogamous by nature, but it is not uncommon that males will mate with a second female once his first mate has laid eggs. Males help females select a nesting location.
- Females handle all of the nest-building responsibilities, completing the structures in as few as three and as many as seven days.
- Nests are constructed out of plant fibers, grasses, hair, and feathers. The cup-shaped nest is placed in a tree or shrub, often being located against the main trunk of the plant.
- Females produce 1 to 2 broods of eggs each year, with each clutch containing 1 to 5 eggs. It takes 10 to 13 days for the eggs to hatch, while nestlings remain in the nest for another 7 to 13 days after hatching. Males and females both feed the young.
Backyard Birding
- American Redstarts are a common warbler species that is commonly observed in backyards throughout the United States. These warblers will not feed from bird feeders or nest in birdhouses, but they may use bird baths if those are available. Yards with plenty of trees and shrubs may attract these birds.
Population Status
- American Redstart population have fared better in Canada than the United States in the last half-century, and a global breeding population of 42 million birds exists today.