Photographing The Black Redstart

The Black redstart

The Black redstart is a popular bird among birdwatchers. This small and lively bird originally comes from the mountains but can now also be found in urban areas, gardens and fields.

Appearance

The black redstart is slightly smaller and slimmer than the house sparrow. The males have a slate-gray to almost black plumage and the females are mostly gray-brown. As their name suggests, they have a red tail. Both males and females have a brighter greyish belly compared to the rest of the body.

Young male redstarts are very similar to the females - even one-year-old male birds still look like females. In addition, the black redstart can easily be confused with the common redstart. The male common redstart can be recognized thanks to its white forehead and black face mask. The female black redstarts are more difficult to distinguish, but the Common redstart has a bright throat, which cannot be observed in the Black redstart.

Occurrence

As already mentioned, the black redstart originally comes from the mountains, but now it can be found in all altitudes. The redstart prefers open areas with clear scrub and not too many trees. This is due to its nutrition; it mainly feeds on insects living on the ground. The redstart also feeds on berries.

Photographing Tips

The black redstart nests in cavities and can be lured into a garden with an adequate nest box and some luck. Thus one has the possibility to observe redstarts and how they deal with each other since they are quite solitary outside the breeding season.

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