Difference between revisions of "Moussier's Redstart" - BirdForum Opus

Latest revision as of 19:20, 27 April 2023

Adult male
Photo by MSA
Oued Massa, Morocco, February 2011

Phoenicurus moussieri

Identification

13cm
Male

Black head
Broad white headband which goes down to the side of the neck
Black upperparts
White wing patch
Short reddish tail
Underparts rich orangy-red.
Winter and first-summer males browner above where adult summer males are black

Female
Photo by Cryptoghost
Oued Massa, Morocco, April 2014

Female - light brown above, brownish orange underparts.

Similar species

The male is unmistakable, but females are very easily confused with female Common Redstarts, differing only in their marginally smaller size, shorter tail, and slightly more intense orange colour on the flanks.

Distribution

Atlas Mountains of northwest Africa in Morocco, northern Algeria, and Tunisia.
Rare vagrant to Europe. Malta (10 records), Italy (records on Linosa and other islands south of Sicily), Spain, Portugal (1 record) and Wales (1 record 1988) are the five European countries which have recorded this bird.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

Habitat

Open woodland in rocky areas, mainly in the mountains but locally down to near sea level.

Behaviour

Breeding

Its nest is built in a bush or on the ground and the clutch is typically 3-6 eggs.

Diet

Diet includes insects.

Vocalisation

Song is a mixture of rasping sounds and svee-svee notes
Call is a plaintive single note, heeh.

References

Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Wikipedia
Collins Field Guide 5th Edition

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Moussier's Redstart. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 1 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Moussier%27s_Redstart

External Links

Search for photos of Moussier's Redstart in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-;Phoenicurus moussieri
+[[Image:Phoenicurus moussieri by MSA.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Adult male<br />Photo by {{user|MSA|MSA}}<br /> Oued Massa, [[Morocco]], February 2011]]
-[[Image:Moussiers_Redstart.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by bowerbird]]
+;[[:Category:Phoenicurus|Phoenicurus]] moussieri
 ==Identification==
-Photo taken: Oed Massa, Morocco
+cm<br />
+'''Male'''
-The Moussier's Redstart (Phoenicurus moussieri) is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family (Turdidae), but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscicapidae).
+*Black head
+*Broad white headband which goes down to the side of the neck
-The 13cm male Moussier's Redstart has a black head with a broad white stripe running above each eye and down the side of the neck. The upperparts are black other than a white wing patch, and the rich chestnut tail, from which it and other redstarts get their names (start is an old word for tail). The underparts are a rich orange-red.
+*Black upperparts
+*White wing patch
-The smaller, shorter-tailed female has a pale brown head and upperparts, and the underparts are a paler orange than the male, although generally redder than the underparts of the similar but slightly larger female Common Redstart.
+*Short reddish tail
+*Underparts rich orangy-red.
-The relationships of this species are obscure. It was not included in the study by Ertan (2006), and both biogeography and color pattern are peculiar. Judging from these, it seems to be closer to the Black Redstart and its relatives than to other species of its genus such as the Common Redstart.
+*Winter and first-summer males browner above where adult summer males are black
+[[Image:IMG 69074.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Female<br />Photo by {{user|Cryptoghost|Cryptoghost}}<br />[[Oued Massa]], [[Morocco]], April 2014]]
-It is an endemic resident breeder in the Atlas Mountains of northwest Africa. Its habitat is open woodland in rocky areas up to 3000 m altitude in the mountains. Its nest is built in a bush or on the ground and the clutch is typically 3-6 eggs.
+'''Female''' - light brown above, brownish orange underparts.
+====Similar species====
-The male's song is a mixture of rasping sounds and svee-svee notes. The call is a plaintive single note, heeh.
+The male is unmistakable, but females are very easily confused with female [[Common Redstart]]s, differing only in their marginally smaller size, shorter tail, and slightly more intense orange colour on the flanks.
+==Distribution==
-Moussier's Redstart feeds like a flycatcher, making aerial sallies after passing insects.
+Atlas Mountains of northwest [[Africa]] in [[Morocco]], northern [[Algeria]], and [[Tunisia]].<br />
+Rare vagrant to [[Europe]]. [[Malta]] (10 records), [[Italy]] (records on Linosa and other islands south of Sicily), [[Spain]], [[Portugal]] (1 record) and [[Wales]] (1 record 1988) are the five European countries which have recorded this bird.
+==Taxonomy==
+This is a [[Dictionary_M-O#M|monotypic]] species<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>.
+==Habitat==
+Open woodland in rocky areas, mainly in the mountains but locally down to near sea level.
+==Behaviour==
+====Breeding====
+Its nest is built in a bush or on the ground and the clutch is typically 3-6 eggs.
+====Diet====
+Diet includes insects.
+====Vocalisation====
+'''Song''' is a mixture of rasping sounds and ''svee-svee'' notes<br />
+'''Call''' is a plaintive single note, ''heeh''.
+==References==
+#{{Ref-Clements6thAug14}}#Wikipedia
+#Collins Field Guide 5th Edition
+{{ref}}
 ==External Links==
+{{GSearch|"Phoenicurus moussieri" {{!}} "Moussiers Redstart"}}
+{{GS-checked}}1
+<br />
+<br />
-[[Category:Birds]]
+[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Phoenicurus]]