# Common Redstart

*Phoenicurus phoenicurus*

The name 'redstart' comes from the Old English 'steort', meaning 'tail', referring to the bird's distinctive flickering orange-red tail feathers.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Muscicapidae › Phoenicurus
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Open deciduous and mixed woodland, mature parks, and large gardens with old trees.
- **Diet:** Mainly insects such as caterpillars, beetles, and flies; also spiders and small berries in autumn.
- **Range:** Europe, Western Asia, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa
- **Size:** 13-15 cm in length, 20-25 cm wingspan
- **Lifespan:** 2-5 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Intensive forestry removing old nesting trees, pesticide use reducing prey availability, and climate change affecting migration timing.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. Observe from a distance with binoculars to avoid disrupting their foraging or nesting. If you find a grounded fledgling, leave it alone as parents are likely nearby; if injured, contact a wildlife rehabilitator.

## About

The common redstart ( Phoenicurus phoenicurus ), or often simply redstart , is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus . Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family, (Turdidae), but is now known to be an Old World flycatcher (family Muscicapidae).

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/967ed1aa-8bec-4335-a076-f6d27f4d2ac8
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/12992
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenicurus phoenicurus
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/125816384/medium.jpg (Сергей Неклюдов, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.