- Myioborus miniatus
Identification
Subspecies M. m. comptus.
Photo © by Jon Lowes
Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde, Costa Rica, 11 March 2007
Photo © by Jon Lowes
Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde, Costa Rica, 11 March 2007
Slate-gray upperparts, black face and throat. Has chestnut-brown crown. The tail is slate-gray with white edges and the wings are black. Thin, pointed bill.
Variations
The breast and belly are red in M.m minatus or yellow-orange in M.m. comptus.
Similar species
In Mexico/the US, commonly confused with Painted Redstart which has a white arc under the eye and large white wing patches.
Distribution
Northern Mexico south to Central America and South America to Bolivia and Brazil.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Twelve subspecies are recognized[1]:
- M. m. miniatus: Mountains of western Mexico (southern Sonora to Guerrero, Oaxaca and western Chiapas)
- M. m. molochinus: Mountains of eastern Mexico (Sierra de Tuxtla in south-eastern Veracruz)
- M. m. intermedius: South Mexico (extreme eastern Oaxaca and Chiapas) to eastern Guatemala
- M. m. hellmayri: Subtropical Pacific cordillera from Guatemala to south-western El Salvador
- M. m. connectens: Subtropical mountains of El Salvador and Honduras
- M. m. comptus: Subtropical mountains of Costa Rica (Cordillera Central and Guanacaste)
- M. m. aurantiacus: Mountains of eastern Costa Rica (Cordillera de Talamanca) and western Panama
- M. m. ballux: Eastern Panama (Darién) to Colombia, western Venezuela and north-western Ecuador
- M. m. sanctaemartae: Santa Marta Mountains (north-eastern Colombia)
- M. m. pallidiventris: Coastal mountains of northern Venezuela (eastern Falcón to Monagas)
- M. m. subsimilis: West Andes of Ecuador (El Oro) to extreme north-western Peru (Piura)
- M. m. verticalis: South East Ecuador to Peru, Bolivia, south eastern Venezuela, Guyana and north western Brazil
Habitat
Wooded pine-oak canyons, other forests, woodlands and clearings.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet consists mostly of insects caught on the wing.
Breeding
Breeding: nests in embankments covered by foliage
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Slate-throated Redstart. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Slate-throated_Redstart
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
