Phoenicurus phoenicurus

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Cladus: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Telluraves
Cladus: Australaves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Infraordo: Passerida
Superfamilia: Muscicapoidea

Familia: Muscicapidae
Genus: Phoenicurus
Species: Phoenicurus phoenicurus
Subspecies: P. p. phoenicurus – P. p. samamisicus
Name

Phoenicurus phoenicurus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms

Motacilla phoenicurus (protonym)
Motacilla titys Linnaeus, 1758

References

Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiæ: impensis direct. Laurentii Salvii. i–ii, 1–824 pp DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.542: 187. Open access Reference page.

Vernacular names
Alemannisch: Gartenrotschwanz
башҡортса: Утҡойроҡ
беларуская: Гарыхвостка звычайная
български: Градинска червеноопашка
brezhoneg: Rulosteg bailh
català: Cotxa cua-roja
čeština: Rehek zahradní
Cymraeg: Tingoch
dansk: Rødstjert
Deutsch: Gartenrotschwanz
English: Common Redstart
Esperanto: Ĝardenruĝvostulo
español: Colirrojo real
eesti: Lepalind
euskara: Buztangorri argi
suomi: Leppälintu
føroyskt: Velreyði
Nordfriisk: Ruadstört
français: Rougequeue à front blanc
Gaeilge: Earrdheargán
galego: Rabirrubio de testa branca
magyar: Kerti rozsdafarkú
հայերեն: Կարմրատուտ սովորական
Bahasa Indonesia: Ekor merah-lembayung
italiano: Codirosso
日本語: シロビタイジョウビタキ
kurdî: Bûknefsok
lietuvių: Paprastoji raudonuodegė
latviešu: Erickiņš
Nederlands: Gekraagde roodstaart
norsk nynorsk: Raudstjert
norsk: Rødstjert
polski: Pleszka zwyczajna
português: Rabirruivo-de-testa-branca
русский: Обыкновенная горихвостка
slovenčina: Žltochvost hôrny
svenska: Rödstjärt
Türkçe: Bayağı kızılkuyruk
удмурт: Гордбыж
vèneto: Coarossa

The common redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus), or often simply redstart, is a small passerine bird in the genus Phoenicurus. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family, (Turdidae), but is now known to be an Old World flycatcher (family Muscicapidae).
Taxonomy and systematics

The first formal description of the common redstart was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Motacilla phoenicurus.[2] The genus Phoenicurus was introduced by the English naturalist Thomas Forster in 1817.[3] The genus and species name phoenicurus is from Ancient Greek phoinix, "red", and -ouros -"tailed".[4]

Two subspecies are accepted. The nominate P. p. phoenicurus is found all over Europe and reaches into Siberia. To the southeast, subspecies P. p. samamisicus, sometimes called ‘Ehrenberg’s Redstart’, is found from the Crimean Peninsula and Greece through Turkey, the Caucasus, the Middle East, and into Central Asia. Adult males have white outer webs in the remiges, forming a pale to whitish wing-patch similar to the one seen in Black Redstart and Daurian Redstart. This patch is also present but less conspicuous in some immature males, and sometimes in adult females. Some males exhibit a blackish mantle, too. Both subspecies intergrade widely in the southern Balkans and coastal Ukraine.[5]

The closest genetic relative of the common redstart may be the Moussier's redstart, though incomplete sampling of the genus gives some uncertainty to this.[6] Its ancestors were apparently the first redstarts to spread to Europe; they seem to have diverged from the black redstart group about 3 mya, during the Piacenzian.[7] Genetically, common and black redstarts are still fairly compatible and can produce hybrids that appear to be healthy and fertile, but they are separated by different behaviour and ecological requirements so hybrids are rather rare in nature.[8] [9][10]
Description

The Common Redstart shows some affinity to the European Robin in many of its habits and actions. It has the same general carriage, and chat-like behaviour, and is the same length at 13–14.5 cm long but slightly slimmer and not quite as heavy, weighing 11–23 g. The orange-red tail, from which it and other redstarts get their names ("start" is an old word for "tail"), is frequently quivered. Among common European birds, only the Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochrurus) has a similarly coloured tail.[11][12]
Female

The male in summer has a slate-grey head and upperparts, except the rump and tail, which, like the flanks, underwing coverts and axillaries are orange-chestnut. The forehead is white; the sides of the face and throat are black. The two central tail feathers are dark brown, the other tail feathers bright orange-red. The wings are grey-brown in male P. p. phoenicurus but the remiges have white outer webs forming a pale to whitish wing-patch in adult male P. p. samamisicus (see Taxonomy and systematics). The orange on the flanks shades to almost white on the belly. The bill and legs are black. In autumn, pale feather fringes on the body feathering obscure the colours of the male, giving it a washed-out appearance. The female is grey-brown above and buff-white or light orange below. In most females the throat is whitish, but some (older?) females show a dark bib, some even approaching males in appearance. In P. p. samamisicus, many females tend to show a light wing-patch, analogous to the males but much less prominent.
Distribution and habitat

Common Redstarts prefer open mature birch, oak or, particularly in the north of the breeding range, conifer woodland with a high horizontal visibility and low amounts of shrub and understorey especially where the trees are old enough to have holes suitable for its nest. Other habitats of the species are orchards as well as villages, parks and old gardens in urban areas.[13] In Britain the Common Redstart occurs primarily in upland areas less affected by agricultural intensification. Nests are built in cavities, e.g. natural tree holes, so dead trees or those with dead limbs are beneficial to the species; nestboxes are commonly used. A high cover of moss and lichen is also preferred.[11][12]

In England, where it has declined by 55% in the past 25 years [when?], the Forestry Commission offers grants under a scheme called England's Woodland Improvement Grant (EWIG); as does Natural Englands Environmental Stewardship Scheme.[citation needed] It is a very rare breeding bird in Ireland, with between one and five pairs breeding in most years, nearly all of them in County Wicklow.[14]
Behaviour and ecology

It is a summer visitor throughout most of Europe and western Asia (east to Lake Baikal), and also in northwest Africa in Morocco. It winters in central Africa and Arabia, south of the Sahara Desert but north of the Equator, from Senegal east to Yemen. It is widespread as a breeding bird in Great Britain, particularly in upland broadleaf woodlands and hedgerow trees, but in Ireland it is very local, and may not breed every year.

The males first arrive in early to mid April,[15] often a few days in advance of the females. Five or six light blue eggs are laid during May, with a second brood in midsummer in the south of the breeding range. It departs for Africa between mid-August and early October. It often feeds like a flycatcher, making aerial sallies after passing insects, and most of its food consists of winged insects. The main contact call in Central Europe is a rising, slightly dissylabilic huid. In southern Italy and as well as within the range of the subspecies P. p. samamisicus this call is replaced by a monosyllabic heed. This call can be rising or constant in Italy but is always constant and reminiscent of the slightly higher pitched contact calls of Collared Flycatcher Ficedula albicollis in P. p. samamisicus. A third call variant exists on the Iberian peninsula, whereas in Siberia huid and heed calls can be combined. All call variants are regularly combined with ticking alarm calls.[16]

The male's song consists of soft melancholy strophes lasting 1-2 seconds that can be divides into three parts: an introduction, a repetitive part and a more variable third part. This structure seems to be very constant across the breeding range of the nominate subspecies, but is more variable in P. p. samamisicus where the introduction only rarely consists solely of a clear whistle similar to that of nominate P. p. phoenicurus.[17][18]

Common Redstarts are sometimes parasitized by common cuckoos. Surprisingly, redstart chicks did not suffer from sharing the nest with a cuckoo chick. The presence of a cuckoo might even be beneficial for the nestlings. The large size of the cuckoo chick affects the thermoregulation in the nest. In some sense, the cuckoo chick is ‘brooding’ the redstart nestlings. Moreover, food provision might be better for redstart chicks in a mixed brood.[19][20]

References

BirdLife International (2019) [amended version of 2016 assessment]. "Phoenicurus phoenicurus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T22710055A155611852. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22710055A155611852.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturæ per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, Volume 1 (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii. p. 187.
Forster, Thomas (1817). A Synoptical Catalogue of British Birds. London: Nichols, Son, and Bentley. p. 53.
Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, United Kingdom: Christopher Helm. p. 304. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4..
Martinez, Nicolas; Kirwan, Guy M.; Schweizer, Manuel (2023-01-01). "Resolving disputed subspecies distribution limits, and revealing intraspecific intergradation, in the Common Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus using citizen science and museum data". Journal of Ornithology. 164 (1): 1–12. doi:10.1007/s10336-022-02007-x. ISSN 2193-7206.
Sangster, G.; Alström, P.; Forsmark, E.; Olsson, U. (2010). "Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis of Old World chats and flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly at family, subfamily and genus level (Aves: Muscicapidae)" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 57 (1): 380–392. Bibcode:2010MolPE..57..380S. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.07.008. PMID 20656044. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
Ertan, K. T. (2006). The Evolutionary History of Eurasian Redstarts "Phoenicurus". Acta Zoologica Sinica 52 (Supplement): 310–313. PDF fulltext Archived 2014-05-25 at the Wayback Machine
Grosch, Kai (2004). Hybridization Between the Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus and Black Redstart P. ochruros, and the Effect on Habitat Exploitation. J. Avian Biol. 35 (3): 217-223. doi:10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03128.x (HTML abstract)
Martinez N., Nicolai B., van der Spek V. (2019) Redstart hybrids in Europe and North Africa. British Birds112:190-210. https://www.researchgate.net/
"Rotschwanz-Hybriden und Mischsänger".
Hoyo, J. del; et al., eds. (2005). Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 10. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. p. 771. ISBN 84-87334-72-5.
Snow, D. W. & Perrins, C. M. (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic (Concise ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. hdl:11245/1.132115. ISBN 0-19-854099-X.
Urs N. Glutz von Blotzheim (Hrsg.): Handbuch der Vögel Mitteleuropas. Bearb. u. a. von Kurt M. Bauer, Einhard Bezzel und Urs N. Glutz von Blotzheim. 14 Bände in 23 Teilen. Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Frankfurt am Main 1966 ff., Aula-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1985 ff. (2. Auflage).
Perry, Kenneth W. "The Annual Report of the Irish Rare Birds Breeding Panel 2012" Irish Birds Vol. 9 p.573
"Redstart". RSPB.
Martinez N. & Martin R. (2020 ) Geographical variation in Common Redstart calls. Dutch Birding 43: 163-174. https://www.researchgate.net/ s
Ayé R., Martinez N., Stalling T. (2014) The vocalisations of ‘Ehrenberg’s Redstart’ British Birds 107: 26-36. https://www.researchgate.net/
"10 - Use it or lose it". 7 June 2021.
Kysučan, Michal; Samaš, Peter; Grim, Tomáš (2020). "Post-fledging interactions between the Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus and its cavity-nesting Common Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus host". Ibis. 162 (1): 90–103. doi:10.1111/ibi.12719. ISSN 1474-919X. S2CID 92114175.
"Mixed Broods". British Ornithologists' Union. 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2020-04-10.

List of Cyprus birds