Field Guide : Painted Redstart
Unlimited edition. 18 x 24 inch, museum-quality poster on matte paper.
The painted redstart’s scientific binomial, Myioborus pictus, calls to mind a wizarding world curse that might require pronunciation correction by Hermione. In fact, the binomial translates as “painted fly eater” (which, honestly, sounds like something Malfoy might call Ron Weasley). 🪄😉 Magical though it may be, this boldly colored redstart is a creature of our world…and it is, indeed, a fly eater.
Although its common name is redstart, it’s a member of the whitestart family, so called because of their bright white outer tail rectrices (feathers). All members of the whitestart crew spread their wings and fan their tails when foraging, moving their bodies from side to side as they do so (behavior called twitching or pirouetting). This dance helps flush their insect prey, which, once it moves and reveals itself to the bird, is gleaned from the branch and swallowed down. That said, painted redstart tail-fanning isn’t only about meals. During courtship, they fan their tails, too, but careful observers have noted that the tail-fanning during prey gleaning is faster and more vigorous than the slower and less frequent tail-fanning of courtship.
The painted redstart male and female look the same. During the breeding season, they form season-long pair bonds. The courtship includes slow dancing, but also much singing. Initially, females are drawn to the male’s song, but once in the neighborhood, the birds sing a duet, sometimes continuing to sing together for many hours. In addition to the singing, the males will tail-fan and perform a courtship flight display as well as chasing the interested female, giving courtship calls during this pursuit. If all goes well, the male and female form the pair bond and will stay close together throughout the breeding season. Ornithologists suspect that one reason the bonded pair stay close is because the male is “mate guarding”; female redstarts have been observed mating with other males, so it’s in the interest of the bonded male to keep an eye on his partner (to ensure his genes are passed on). When the breeding season ends, the pair splits, and both male and female redstarts lead solitary lives until the next breeding season.
Note: These archival poster prints feature rich, appealing colors. I encourage customers to take care in handling them until they are framed/protected for display; the darker colors on the matte paper can be scratched. They ship rolled, so customers need to flatten them before framing (or have their framer do so).
Charitable Sales Model: Whenever one of these poster prints is purchased, a charitable contribution equal to 10% of the print’s cost (or $3.60) is made to a nonprofit working to tackle environmental or social challenges. Read more about my charitable sales model here.
Unlimited edition. 18 x 24 inch, museum-quality poster on matte paper.
The painted redstart’s scientific binomial, Myioborus pictus, calls to mind a wizarding world curse that might require pronunciation correction by Hermione. In fact, the binomial translates as “painted fly eater” (which, honestly, sounds like something Malfoy might call Ron Weasley). 🪄😉 Magical though it may be, this boldly colored redstart is a creature of our world…and it is, indeed, a fly eater.
Although its common name is redstart, it’s a member of the whitestart family, so called because of their bright white outer tail rectrices (feathers). All members of the whitestart crew spread their wings and fan their tails when foraging, moving their bodies from side to side as they do so (behavior called twitching or pirouetting). This dance helps flush their insect prey, which, once it moves and reveals itself to the bird, is gleaned from the branch and swallowed down. That said, painted redstart tail-fanning isn’t only about meals. During courtship, they fan their tails, too, but careful observers have noted that the tail-fanning during prey gleaning is faster and more vigorous than the slower and less frequent tail-fanning of courtship.
The painted redstart male and female look the same. During the breeding season, they form season-long pair bonds. The courtship includes slow dancing, but also much singing. Initially, females are drawn to the male’s song, but once in the neighborhood, the birds sing a duet, sometimes continuing to sing together for many hours. In addition to the singing, the males will tail-fan and perform a courtship flight display as well as chasing the interested female, giving courtship calls during this pursuit. If all goes well, the male and female form the pair bond and will stay close together throughout the breeding season. Ornithologists suspect that one reason the bonded pair stay close is because the male is “mate guarding”; female redstarts have been observed mating with other males, so it’s in the interest of the bonded male to keep an eye on his partner (to ensure his genes are passed on). When the breeding season ends, the pair splits, and both male and female redstarts lead solitary lives until the next breeding season.
Note: These archival poster prints feature rich, appealing colors. I encourage customers to take care in handling them until they are framed/protected for display; the darker colors on the matte paper can be scratched. They ship rolled, so customers need to flatten them before framing (or have their framer do so).
Charitable Sales Model: Whenever one of these poster prints is purchased, a charitable contribution equal to 10% of the print’s cost (or $3.60) is made to a nonprofit working to tackle environmental or social challenges. Read more about my charitable sales model here.
Unlimited edition. 18 x 24 inch, museum-quality poster on matte paper.
The painted redstart’s scientific binomial, Myioborus pictus, calls to mind a wizarding world curse that might require pronunciation correction by Hermione. In fact, the binomial translates as “painted fly eater” (which, honestly, sounds like something Malfoy might call Ron Weasley). 🪄😉 Magical though it may be, this boldly colored redstart is a creature of our world…and it is, indeed, a fly eater.
Although its common name is redstart, it’s a member of the whitestart family, so called because of their bright white outer tail rectrices (feathers). All members of the whitestart crew spread their wings and fan their tails when foraging, moving their bodies from side to side as they do so (behavior called twitching or pirouetting). This dance helps flush their insect prey, which, once it moves and reveals itself to the bird, is gleaned from the branch and swallowed down. That said, painted redstart tail-fanning isn’t only about meals. During courtship, they fan their tails, too, but careful observers have noted that the tail-fanning during prey gleaning is faster and more vigorous than the slower and less frequent tail-fanning of courtship.
The painted redstart male and female look the same. During the breeding season, they form season-long pair bonds. The courtship includes slow dancing, but also much singing. Initially, females are drawn to the male’s song, but once in the neighborhood, the birds sing a duet, sometimes continuing to sing together for many hours. In addition to the singing, the males will tail-fan and perform a courtship flight display as well as chasing the interested female, giving courtship calls during this pursuit. If all goes well, the male and female form the pair bond and will stay close together throughout the breeding season. Ornithologists suspect that one reason the bonded pair stay close is because the male is “mate guarding”; female redstarts have been observed mating with other males, so it’s in the interest of the bonded male to keep an eye on his partner (to ensure his genes are passed on). When the breeding season ends, the pair splits, and both male and female redstarts lead solitary lives until the next breeding season.
Note: These archival poster prints feature rich, appealing colors. I encourage customers to take care in handling them until they are framed/protected for display; the darker colors on the matte paper can be scratched. They ship rolled, so customers need to flatten them before framing (or have their framer do so).
Charitable Sales Model: Whenever one of these poster prints is purchased, a charitable contribution equal to 10% of the print’s cost (or $3.60) is made to a nonprofit working to tackle environmental or social challenges. Read more about my charitable sales model here.