Rufous-backed Redstart

About the Rufous-backed Redstart

Eversmann's redstart (Phoenicurus erythronotus), also known as the rufous-backed redstart, is a passerine bird belonging to the genus Phoenicurus. It was formerly classified in the thrush family Turdidae but is now placed in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It was described by the German biologist Eduard Friedrich Eversmann who is commemorated in the bird's English name.

It is one of the larger redstarts, 15 to 16 cm (5.9 to 6.3 in) long with a wingspan of 25.5 to 27 cm (10.0 to 10.6 in) and weigh 15 to 22 g (0.53 to 0.78 oz). The bill and legs are black. The male in breeding plumage has a black mask and grey crown and nape. The back and rump are rufous and the tail is also rufous apart from the darker central feathers. The wings are dark with white patches on the scapulars and primary-coverts. The underparts are mainly rufous with white on the belly and undertail-coverts.

Non-breeding and first-winter males are similar but much duller and browner. Females are mostly grey-brown. They have a rufous tail with a dark centre, a pale eye-ring, two buff wingbars and buff edges to the tertials. The song is loud and lively. The birds also have a soft, croaking... Wikipedia →