Black redstart
- The black redstart builds nests in unusual places, including power lines and transformer boxes. Literature describes such unconventional sites as mechanisms that often change their position.
- The black redstart is the only species of Western Palaearctic that inhabits all geographic zones, from sea level to alpine meadows, but not above the snow line. It has adapted to life in both dry and wet climates in mountains and populated areas.
- The black redstart hunts prey up to 7 cm in size. Sometimes it catches caterpillars and earthworms up to 7 cm long, then tears them into pieces.
- The female black redstart incubates the eggs alone, while the male is present in the nest only in exceptional cases. Incubation begins with the laying of the last egg or a day before that.
- The black redstart got its genus name because of its bright rusty tail that flicks with a dark longitudinal stripe in the middle. It has the same tail as other species of the genus Phoenicurus.
- The singing of the black redstart continues until evening dusk, especially at the beginning of the breeding season. On a good day, the bird spends about 6 hours a day singing.
- Black redstart chicks hatch within several hours. Females feed the chicks more often than males, but males bring more food at one time.
- The black redstart lives at an altitude of up to 5700 m above sea level in the Himalayas. In the Alps, it is found at an altitude of up to 3200 m above sea level.
- The black redstart even in large groups keeps a significant distance from other individuals. This happens, for example, during bad weather or by the riverbank, where insects gather.
- The black redstart in Central Asia and on the western slopes of the Himalayas makes long migrations, wintering in the lowlands of northwest India, Pakistan, southern Iran, the Arabian Peninsula, Ethiopia, and Somalia. These migrations cover large distances and involve movement to different regions.
- Within the first 10 days, the weight of black redstart chicks increases more than 10 times. At 11 days old, they develop a feather coat.
Age
The typical lifespan of the black redstart ranges from 7 years and 8 months to 12 years and 9 months, although the maximum recorded lifespan is 10 years and 3 months, with a theoretical lifespan ranging from 7 to 10 years; the species reaches sexual maturity from 9 months and 1 week to 1 year and 3 months. Development begins with the “Embryo” stage, during which the embryo develops inside an egg, progressing to the “Nestling” stage, where the young are in the nest and receive food from their parents for a period of 1 to 2 weeks and 1 day. Following this is the “Rapid Growth Post-Fledging Juvenile” stage, lasting from 2 weeks and 2 days to 11 months, during which the young bird learns to fly and forage independently. The species then enters the "Adult" stage, capable of reproduction, which lasts from 1 to 9 years.
Phenotype
The black redstart has grey down feathers as a chick. Young birds exhibit rapid growth and have a reddish-orange tail, which the species frequently twitches up and down. Adult common redstarts possess a short, thin black beak suitable for catching insects, and thin dark legs that enable quick running on rocks. The adult’s plumage is black on the head, back, and chest, with a white wing patch. The common redstart also has a bright reddish-orange tail, noticeable in flight and when perched.
Physiology
The black redstart measures from 13 to 15 centimeters in body length, with a wingspan of 25 centimeters and a mass ranging from 14.7 to 16 grams as an adult; the embryo stage has a body mass from 1.8 to 2.2 grams; the nestling stage exhibits a body mass from 2 to 15 grams and a body length from 4 to 8 centimeters; the young after rapid growth have a body mass from 13 to 18 grams and a body length from 12 to 14 centimeters; adult males and females have a body mass from 14 to 20 grams and a body length from 13 to 15 centimeters.
Habitat
The black redstart occupies habitats at elevations up to 3.5 kilometers; the species lives on land and in terrestrial forests. Common redstarts inhabit temperate mixed forests, which have warm summers with many oak, birch, and maple trees, as well as flooded meadows where water frequently covers the ground and there is abundant grass. The climate varies, including cool summers with temperatures of 15 to 20 degrees Celsius, very hot summers exceeding 25 to 30 degrees Celsius, consistently wet conditions with nearly constant rain and high humidity, many rains and a cool summer with snow in winter, and warm, pleasant summers with abundant rainfall.
Shelter
Common redstarts inhabit cracks in rocks, walls of buildings, and niches. The species builds or utilizes nests as shelters for laying eggs and raising young. These nests are constructed from grasses, roots, feathers, and hairs.
Geography
The black redstart is found within the Palearctic biogeographical region and occupies several distinct ecosystems, including Celtic broadleaf forests, broadleaf forests of Western Europe, coniferous forests of the Qilian Mountains, Balkan mixed forests, Baltic mixed forests, and coniferous and mixed forests of the Pyrenees.
Feeding
The black redstart primarily feeds on insects and other small invertebrates, catching them on the ground, rocks, and in the air during summer; the species supplements its diet with berries in autumn and winter. The common redstart obtains food through surface foraging and catching prey in short flights, consuming insects, spiders, small worms, berries, tiny worms, and insect larvae. Its hunting strategy involves active searching and acquisition of food, with a daily food requirement ranging from 6 grams to 12 grams. The diet includes beetles, flies, Hymenoptera, butterflies, bedbugs, Orthoptera, dragonflies, mayflies, and lacewings.
Reproduction
The black-tailed warbler has an embryonic development period of 1 week. The female builds a nest and lays from 4 to 6 white eggs with reddish spots, and then both parents feed the chicks. The brood size is from 4 to 12 offspring. The male occupies a territory and sings to attract the female. Maturity occurs at an age of from 10 months to 1 year 1 month. The breeding interval in the black-tailed warbler lasts from 9 months 1 week to 1 year 2 months.