Painted Redstart
(Myioborus pictus)
eBird gives this description for the Painted Redstart: This unmistakable warbler is found in canyons and mountainous areas with oaks and pines. Striking plumage: black with large white wing patch and red belly. Tail is often fanned and flashed while foraging, revealing bold white outer tail feathers. Very active, usually flitting around in the lower to mid-levels of trees. Listen for a musical warble with repeated “chewee” notes. Call is similar to Pine Siskin but less wiry. Primarily a Mexican species, occurring as far south as northern Nicaragua. Breeding range barely extends into the southwest U.S.
All About Birds gives this additional descriptive information for the Painted Redstart: A bit of a show-off, the scarlet-bellied Painted Redstart constantly flashes its black-and-white wings and fans its tail while foraging. As it hops and pivots along tree branches, startled insects flush out of their hiding places, whereupon the redstart snatches them up in its bill. Despite such conspicuous plumage and behavior, this warbler of montane pine-oak forests of the southwestern United States and Mexico is typically heard before it is seen. Unlike many other warblers, males and females look the same and females sometimes sing.
I saw, and photographed my first Painted Redstart on Saturday, August 6, 2022. I was on a 2022 Southwest Wings Birding Festival fieldtrip with guide Scott Olmstead, who put me on to the bird, right after we had spotted a Red-faced Warbler. I am grateful to Scott– without him,. and his visual acuity and expertise, there is no way I would have seen these two beautiful warblers. To see the eBird checklist that Scott filed from our visit to this area, look here. To read my Blog Post that includes my time with this outstanding guide, look here.
“Cool Facts” About the Painted Redstart From All About Birds:
- Like other “redstarts” in its genus, the Painted Redstart flashes its white wing patches and outer tail feathers when foraging. These actions appear to flush insects that the redstart then pursues. Researchers who were hand-raising a nest of Painted Redstarts noticed that the nestlings began fanning their tails before their third week, when their tails were not yet fully grown.
- Tail fanning is also used in courtship and later in the breeding cycle as a signal for newly fledged young birds, perhaps to keep them aware of their parents’ locations.
- Despite its common name, the Painted Redstart is not particularly closely related to the American Redstart. Other members of the Myioborus genus, common in the Neotropics, are sometimes known as “whitestarts” to distinguish them. The name “redstart” originates with a number of European thrush species with bold reddish tail patterns.
- The oldest recorded Painted Redstart was a male and at least 6 years, 7 months old, when he was recaptured during banding operations in Arizona.