Common redstart / Gartenrotschwanz (Phoenicurus phoenicurus)

Common redstart on a cable In Locarno-Monti 2020-06-17 14.29.54 Locarno
Classification: Genus Phoenicurus; Family Old world flycatchers (Muscicapidae)
I'd only seen them in Locarno - but I liked them! Later in our FOK expediton to cultural areas around Maienfeld, they were quite common. Also heard many near Frankfurt and Mainz.
I'd only seen them in Locarno - but I liked them! Later in our FOK expediton to cultural areas around Maienfeld, they were quite common. Also heard many near Frankfurt and Mainz.
Red-orange belly with white further down, grey back and head, black beard up to eyes with white eyebrows
In Locarno in 2020, they were often hidden in trees but also visible on powerlines. In 2021 one sang every morning at 5:00 in a gingko tree next to our room in Casa Egner.
Song: Fängt immer mit denselben 3 Tönen an, einem „dih dede“, wobei das dih etwa ein bis zwei Töne höher liegt. Dann folgt eine kurze Strophe mehr oder weniger reine Töne. Das Ganze ist ziemlich individuell. [Link]
Song distinct, with three parts: First an ascending single note, immediately followed by a trill, then concluding with a squeaky, rattling improvisation that usually contains some mimicry. [Link]
Calls: „Füid-tack“ das füid ähnlich dem des Fitislaubsängers, das tack schnalzend. (wie wenn man die Zunge schnell vom Gaumen abzieht) [Link]
Alarm call a slightly drawn, Willow Warbler-like "huit" with a rising pitch, followed by a short, soft "tuc". [Link]
Physical details: length=14 cm, wingspan=20-24 cm, weight=11-19 g
Habitats: Settlement

Song: I though I had these guys figured out after hearing them in Locarno several times, but they're hard to get a handle on! At BirdID they are described the first two parts of a three-part song like this: 'an ascending single note, immediately followed by a trill', whereas in Locarno I heard an initial high-low-high-low, sometimes without the final low, perhaps also a quick middle note, and no trill. Then a relatively short blackbird or warbler-like tune of maybe 5-8 notes. Listening to more recordings at XenoCanto has completely confused me now! BirdID also says the song is similar to the black redstart, which I sometimes hear at XenoCanto, but never did in Locarno! They also note a similarity to the Lesser Whitethroat (Klappergrasmücke), which I hope to hear in Maienfeld.
Song attributes: Melody: stereotype melodic, slow, Frequency: high (3-9 KHz) Special sounds: mimicry Singing season: 04-01 - 07-31 Dawn chorus start, 80 minutes before dawn.
♫ 2021-05-10 05.07.35 Locarno (song)

Call: At least in French, this is called the huit call. Not very consistent in tone from one note to another. Some stick to 3-4 or 3-4.5 KHz, others 2.5-5.5.

♫ Source: XENOCANTO XC551707 - Common Redstart - Phoenicurus phoenicurus.mp3 (call)


♫ Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France recorded by Julien Rochefort - perhaps this isn't a good example as he writes 'An independent juvenile. Its calls are quite irregular. Difficult to distinguish from Phylloscopus collybita, when they don't insert the "tec tec" calls between "huit ...... huit"! But it was really a phoenicurus phoenicurus juvenile, easy to see, perched 15m from me.' Source: XENOCANTO XC146715 common redstart huit call.mp3 (call)


♫ Source: XENOCANTO XC560039 - Common Redstart - Phoenicurus phoenicurus phoenicurus.mp3 (alarm call)


Call attributes: contact call Call melody: one note, slow, Frequency: 2-5 KHz, Special sounds: whoop.
Presence: 03-20 - 10-25
Breeding: 05-01 - 07-15
Migration in: 03-20 - 05-07
Migration out: 07-15 - 10-25
First documented observation : 2020-04-27 in Luppmen.