Overview

Painted Redstart: Medium warbler with black head, upperparts, bright red breast and belly. Wings are black with large, white patches. White arc beneath eye. Tail is black with thick, white edges. It only eats insects, and forages for them on the ground and in trees. It also catches them in flight.

Range and Habitat

Painted Redstart: Breeds in southern Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas; spends winters south of the U.S.-Mexico border. Preferred habitats include pine or pine-oak woods, oak canyons, and pinyon- and juniper-covered high slopes.

Breeding and Nesting

Painted Redstart: Three or four creamy white eggs, with brown specks at large end, are laid in a grass nest with a fine grass or hair lining, and built in a ground hollow. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Painted Redstart: Eats mostly insects. Gleans food from leaves, tree trunks, and branches; also hovers while picking insects from foliage, and hawks over water.

Readily Eats

Sugar Water, Fruit, Nut Pieces

Vocalization

Painted Redstart: Song is a rich, chanting "cheery cheery cheery chew." Call is a "cheereo", different from calls of other warblers.

Similar Species

Painted Redstart: Slate-throated Redstart has dark gray wings, upperparts, and face.