Moussier's Redstart
Phoenicurus moussieri
Small redstart. Male is unmistakable with an orange throat and underparts, a bold white head stripe from the forehead down to the neck sides, and a big white wing patch. Female is plain brown above and rich rusty below, with a thin white eyering. Breeds on wooded mountain slopes, plantations, gardens, and scrub. Descends to lower elevation habitats such as deserts and plains in the winter. Song is a jumble of pleasant, high-pitched whistles and buzzes. Call is a high-pitched clear whistle combined with a buzzing note, "Pi, pi, pi, zzzzzzzzz…"
Taxonomy
The genus name Phoenicurus is from Ancient Greek phoinix, "red", and -ouros -"tailed". The English and specific names commemorate Jean Moussier (1795–1850) who was an amateur naturalist and a surgeon in the French Army during the Napoleonic Wars.<p>Its relationships are obscure; its biogeography is not matched by any other redstart, while its colour pattern is most similar to the much larger Güldenstädt's redstart, which shares the conspicuous white wing patch of the male. It was not included in the study by Ertan (2006), while in the limited sampling by Sangster et al. (2010) it was closest to common redstart.
- Scientific name
- Phoenicurus moussieri
- Authority
- (Olphe-Galliard, 1852)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Phoenicurus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The male's song is a mixture of rasping sounds and svee-svee notes. The call is a plaintive single note, wheet. It is primarily insectivorous, often feeding like a flycatcher, making aerial sallies after passing insects, but also picking and even digging insects out of the ground; more rarely, it will eat small berries. Its nest is built in a bush or on the ground and the clutch is typically 3-6 eggs.<p>Although largely resident, some show limited migratory behaviour, particularly altitudinal migration by those breeding at high altitudes moving to lower levels in winter. Vagrants have reached north to Great Britain (Dinas Head, Pembrokeshire; April 1988), east to Greece, and south to Mauritania.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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