Bird field guide > Bird identification [Q-R] > Redstart, American bird pictures

Redstart, American bird pictures

AMERICAN REDSTART

687. Setophaga ruticilla. 5.5 inches

Male, black, orange and white; female, grayish, yellow and white; it requires two or three years to attain the black plumage of the male, in the intermediate stages they are sometimes strangely mottled.

In the northeastern half of the United States, these are one of the commonest and most active of the species. Both the males and females seem to be proud of their handsome plumage and are continually spreading and closing their tails.

They are equally happy whether in the tree tops or near the ground, and are as often found in the one place as the other.

Song. - "Che-wee, che-wee, che-wee," very similar to that of the Yellow Warbler and also the Chestnut-sided Warbler.

Nest. - Of plant fibres and grasses in forks of bushes or trees, usually at greater heights than those of the Yellow War�bler; eggs whitish specked with brown.

Range. - N.A., rare west of the Rockies, breeding from North Carolina and Missouri northward; winters south of the U.S.