ANIMAL ESTATE client 8.07: BLACK REDSTART
FOR ANIMAL ESTATES 8.0: LONDON
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Phoenicurus ochruros
RANGE: The Black Redstart is a widespread breeder in south and central Europe and Asia and northwest Africa, from Great Britain and Ireland (where local) south to Morocco, east to central China. It is resident in the milder parts of its range, but northeastern birds migrate to winter in southern and western Europe and Asia, and north Africa. It nests in crevices or holes in buildings. In Britain it is most common in as a passage and winter visitor. It is fairly common on the east and south coasts, and in winter on the coasts of Wales and western and southern England, with a few also at inland sites. Migrant Black Redstarts arrive in Britain in October or November and either move on or remain to winter, returning eastward in March or April. They also winter on the south and east coasts of Ireland.
HABITAT: The species originally inhabited stony ground in mountains, particularly cliffs, but since about 1900 has expanded to include similar urban habitats including bombed areas during and after World War II, and large industrial complexes that have the bare areas and cliff-like buildings it favours; in Great Britain, most of the small breeding population nests in such industrial areas. It will catch passing insects in flight, and migrants often hunt in coastal tide-wrack for flies or tiny crustaceans.
VOICE: Most common call is an urgent ‘tucc tucc’. Song is a short warble with some metallic jangles at the end. It is heard from March to July and sometimes in late summer.
HOME CONSTRUCTION: Nests from Late April to July. Nest site is a ledge, crevice or other hole in a rock or wall. Female builds a nest of grass and leaves, lined with hair, wool and feathers. The 4-6 eggs are incubated by the female for 12-16 days. Both parents feed the young, which leave the nest after 12-19 days. After fledging, young are cared for by their parents for a further 11 days. They have 2 sometimes three broods a year.
THREATS: Urban development, Egg thieves, as this is still considered a rare breeding bird in Britain.
INTERESTING FACTS: The Black Redstart first bred in England in 1845 and 1909 but was not really established there until 1923 when two pairs rested: between 1920 and 1939 the pairs were apparently never fewer than 3 or more than 5, but from 1940, aided presently by the ruination of London buildings and the consequent provision of suitable habitat, the British breeding population built up to around 35 pairs in 1950, and has now reached around 60 pairs.
RESOURCES:
BirdLife International (2004). Phoenicurus ochruros. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
Hoyo, J. del, et al., eds. (2005). Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 10. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 770–771. ISBN 84-87334-72-5.
Snow, D. W., & Perrins, C. M. (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic (Concise Edition ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-854099-X.
Holling, M. et al. (2010). Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2008. British Birds 103: 482–538.
Ertan, K. T. (2006). The Evolutionary History of Eurasian Redstarts, Phoenicurus. Acta Zoologica Sinica 52 (Supplement): 310–313. PDF fulltext
Grosch, K. (2004). Hybridization Between 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)
COMPILED BY: Jamie Partridge