American Redstart

Setophaga ruticillaOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Wood Warblers (Parulidae)

Codes: Common Name: AMRE Scientific Name: SETRUT ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178979

Breeding Location:

Forests

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Common to fairly common

Egg Color:

White or pale green with brown and gray marks

Number of Eggs:

2 - 5

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Grass, bark shreds, plant fibers and spider silk.

Migration:

Migratory

General

American Redstart: Medium-sized, active warbler with black upperparts and hood, distinctive orange-red patches on wings, sides, and long, fanned tail, and white underparts. 1st spring male has olive-gray upperparts, pale gray underparts with yellow-orange patches on sides, black lores, black spotting on breast, and bright yellow wing bar and tail patches. 1st summer male resembles 1st spring male but shows more black on head and more yellow-orange on sides. Female resembles 1st year males but has gray head with white eye-ring, and white underparts with yellow sides.

Range and Habitat

American Redstart: Breeds from southeastern Alaska east to Newfoundland, and south to northern California, Colorado, Oklahoma, northern Louisiana, and South Carolina. Spends winters in southern Texas and southern California and points south into the tropics. Preferred habitats include second-growth woodlands.

Breeding and Nesting

American Redstart: Two to five white or pale green eggs, marked with brown and gray, are laid in a compact cup of grass, bark shreds, plant fibers, and spider silk, often decorated with lichens, and lined with fine grass and hair. Nest is usually built in a tree or bush 10 to 20 feet above the ground. Female incubates eggs for 12 days.

Foraging and Feeding

American Redstart: Feeds on insects, spiders, caterpillars, berries, fruits, and seeds. Often pursues flying insects by dropping from perch. Has flycatcher-like bristles around bill and competes for food with the Least Flycatcher, which may aggressively attack redstarts.

Readily Eats

Sugar Water, Fruit, Nut Pieces

Vocalization

American Redstart: Gives five or six high-pitched, somewhat coarse notes, ending with an upward or downward inflection: "chewy-chewy-chewy, chew-chew-chew."

Similar Species

American Redstart: None in range.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

American Redstart

American Redstart: Medium, active warbler with black upperparts and hood, distinctive orange-red patches on wings, sides, and long, fanned tail, and white underparts. Bill, legs, and feet are black. It frequently flashes its colorful wings and tail to flush insects from foliage.

● Song: "chewy-chewy-chewy, chew-chew-chew"

● Foraging & Feeding: American Redstart: Feeds on insects, spiders, caterpillars, berries, fruits, and seeds. Often pursues flying insects by dropping from perch. Has flycatcher-like bristles around bill and competes for food with the Least Flycatcher, which may aggressively attack redstarts.

● Breeding & nesting: American Redstart: Two to five white or pale green eggs, marked with brown and gray, are laid in a compact cup of grass, bark shreds, plant fibers, and spider silk, often decorated with lichens, and lined with fine grass and hair. Nest is usually built in a tree or bush 10 to 20 feet above the ground. Female incubates eggs for 12 days.

● Similar species: American Redstart: None in range.

Flight Pattern

Weak flight on rapidly beating wings.

● Range & Habitat: American Redstart: Breeds from southeastern Alaska east to Newfoundland, and south to northern California, Colorado, Oklahoma, northern Louisiana, and South Carolina. Spends winters in southern Texas and southern California and points south into the tropics. Preferred habitats include second-growth woodlands.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationCommon to fairly common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.3 Ounces

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America