Black Redstart: how to recognise it
A bird of Europe, Africa and Asia. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Paul Cools · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Phoenicurus ochruros
- Family
- Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats
- Size
- About 14 cm
- Habitat
- Towns, harbours and industrial sites
- Found in
- Europe, Africa and Asia
The key marks
A sooty grey-black male with a white wing patch; both sexes have a rusty tail. Common Redstart has an orange chest and a white forehead.
Voice
A short, scratchy song like scraping gravel.
Good to know
A bird of rock and buildings: it sings from rooftops in towns and harbours.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Common Redstart. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in towns, harbours and industrial sites. It is especially common in Spain. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.