American Redstart

5″ in length

8½″ wingspan

Shrubby woodland edges, open and semi-open deciduous and mixed forests, often near water

Early May to early October

Common migrant and breeder

The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map

American Redstart - male -

Of all the birds I have encountered I have learned more about the American Redstart than any other. A few have gotten so use to me walking through the woods they would come quite close and also didn’t seem to fear me if I spotted one of their nests and took a look in it. The little redstarts have a lot of character. They will dart over, under, up or down and even fly out in mid air to catch their prey mainly insects. Hyper active little birds they are. They aren’t afraid to get down in the dirt if there is food in sight. I have seen dull looking American Redstarts going down to water to bathe and after they were cleaned up it was hard to believe it was the same little bird. Like mentioned they aren’t afraid to get a little dirty in their pursuit of food etc. I have encountered redstarts for several years now and still find them entertaining and very likable little characters. They can be beautiful too.

American Redstart (adult male) Breeding Plumage...

… Spring 2021 a male redstart in its breeding plumage. It was checking trees in its territory for possible nest sites. I have seen the male do that before females arrive. If a female shows interest he will try show her potential areas suitable for a nest to be built. She may choose one he shows her or she may look to see if there are any others she herself might find. Cute when they go around together trying to decide on a site to build a nest.

Early Spring 2021 male American Redstart...

Came across this adult male American redstart earlier this Spring. It just set up its territory in some woodlands near a small creek in Norman Co. Mn. Very alert and always paying close attention to anything going on. About a week later another male redstart showed up and they would have aerial displays going on circling and occasionally making contact with each other swirling to the ground briefly and back up. Eventually both male redstarts had boundaries to their territories and female redstarts showed up…and the nesting season began. In Spring breeding plumage some are quite beautiful little birds.

3 little American Redstarts almost ready to...

leave their nest. But since this photo was taken the biggest one did leave the nest and though I am not sure more than likely the other two as well by now. The biggest one which is the upper one was flapping its wings a lot in the nest and the adult female was trying to coax it out of the nest. I had to leave and go recharge my camera battery and by the time I got back he was out of the nest.

One other odd thing ... while all 3 little redstarts were in the nest and the female was away from it a cowbird laid an egg right by the little redstarts.

My guess is that the redstarts will continue getting their young out of the nest and leave the area tending to their young out of the nest. Fortunate these 3 were old enough and ready to leave so the cowbird couldn’t interfere with the outcome. I am not fond of cowbirds ones I have seen are rather ugly baby birds. Most often the host birds offspring are crowded and starved out by the ugly baby cowbird. Kind of gross but I guess part of the natural world. Still not liking it though.

The little redstarts are really cute and have a lot of character. Redstarts do not seem to mind me at all and have had adult males right below my feet at times as well as some females. The biggest baby redstart left the nest early sometime in the afternoon on June 19, 2021. The two others were still in there but like mentioned probably left by now. It has been raining all day so haven’t been out to check or anything. Maybe will if it quits. They are pretty cute.

Update on the 3 little redstarts...

It stopped raining late afternoon so I went out and checked the nest. All 3 left the nest and not sure what happened to the cowbird egg. I couldn’t get a real good look into the nest but it looked like it may have gotten broken. Maybe the rambunctious little redstarts scrambled around and it got broke. No loss really just glad they made it out of the nest.

All 3 had left the nest. I checked late this afternoon once the rain quit. I couldn’t tell for sure but it looked like maybe that cowbird egg got smashed or broken.

There is another pair a real nice little male and female redstart that have 2 nestlings that are maybe 6 days old and there is a cowbird egg in that nest that hasn’t hatched yet. Maybe they will leave the nest in time too. I’ll monitor it since only a few more days before they will be ready to leave. The little male is use to me and returns to the same general area every spring. He has been under foot several times which surprises me and always catches me off guard.

Here is a photo with the 3 little redstarts and the cowbird egg. So sneaky cowbirds are I was by this nest and walked maybe 50 yards down a trail pausing briefly and seen something fly from this nest area but just thought it was a random bird in the woods but must of been the cowbird. Since all the sudden there was an egg in the nest. I couldn’t believe it... So yeah cowbirds are very sneaky.

Egg in Redstart nest...

I managed to get a look into the empty nest. What I thought the other day when I partially could see in it that the egg was broken. Turned out to be bird poop and the egg was still there but the redstarts gone. This isn’t a good photo because it was on a slope and I couldn’t steady the camera very well. But you can see it is still there. A person sees and learns a lot out in nature sometimes. Photo is from this morning.

Male Redstart...

The female jumped off the nest and the male came and fed the 2 nestlings. He paused for several seconds looking over the nestlings then left the nest and the female returned.

It was really neat seeing how caring the adults are at tending to their young etc. Also very beneficial when it comes to helping control insects.

Male Redstart at the nest...

The female darted off the nest and the male brought food for the hatchlings in the nest. The male paused for a while and the female returned with food for the young too. The male exited the nest site quickly. He’s a nice little bird.

American Redstart...

American Redstart adult male...

I have observed many redstarts over the past several seasons. They do not seem to care if they get a bit dingy or dirty hunting for insects, defending their territories etc. They will dart over, up, down, under and through places just to find food etc. One thing that I found really interesting is that some redstarts can go down to the water looking dull and dingy but after they bathe and dry off are brighter in color than before. With some it made me wonder if it was the same bird. Hyperactive, sometimes fanning tails and displaying their color patches they are hard working little birds that even though may appear drab or dull at times some clean up nicely. Orange and red orange etc. color patches do vary from bright to less bright with orange tinting from almost red(orange-red) to yellow orange. Wing and tail color patches can be lighter than the color patches on the front side areas. Observed both a male and a female redstart with off-white tail feather areas. Like many birds they are beneficial at helping control insects.

American Redstart ....

They can be beautiful when they want to be. I know them well.

Adult male American Redstart in Spring of 2017

Adult male at the nest about to feed a small insect to two newly hatched nestlings - June 2017.

Adult female on her nest in the woods.

Adult female American Redstart on her nest in the woods.

"American Redstart" adult male filmed Spring 2020
Dec 1, 2020

Adult male American Redstart feeding young.
Published on Aug 16, 2014

Adult male American Redstart in action.
Published on Aug 16, 2014

720p American Redstart adult female
Published on Sep 26, 2014

720p "On the Hunt" American Redstart music video
Published on Aug 18, 2014

“Watching Redstarts” The American Redstart filmed during the 2017 nesting season.
Uploaded Tuesday, December 26, 2017 at 7:08 PM EST

American Redstart bathing
h2otara

American Redstart - Racine Co., WI
Eric Howe

American Redstart Portrait
ebirdr

American Redstart in Maine
WIld Bird Video Productions

American Redstart (females)
seahue

Location: Norman Co. Mn.

Of all the birds I have encountered I have learned more about the American Redstart than any other. A few have gotten so use to me walking through the woods they would come quite close and also didn’t seem to fear me if I spotted one of their nests and took a look in it.

The little redstarts have a lot of character. They will dart over, under, up or down and even fly out in mid air to catch their prey mainly insects. Hyper active little birds they are. They aren’t afraid to get down in the dirt if there is food in sight. I have seen dull looking American Redstarts going down to water to bathe and after they were cleaned up it was hard to believe it was the same little bird. Like mentioned they aren’t afraid to get a little dirty in their pursuit of food etc. I have encountered redstarts for several years now and still find them entertaining and very likable little characters. They can be beautiful too.

Location: Willow River State Park, WI

Very active and saw many throughout the trail walk.  Very easy to see with leaves just starting to come in.

Location: Big Willow Park, Minnetonka

Location: Norman Co., Mn.

Came across this adult male American redstart earlier this Spring. It just set up its territory in some woodlands near a small creek in Norman Co. Mn. Very alert and always paying close attention to anything going on.

About a week later another male redstart showed up and they would have aerial displays going on circling and occasionally making contact with each other swirling to the ground briefly and back up. Eventually both male redstarts had boundaries to their territories and female redstarts showed up…and the nesting season began. In Spring breeding plumage some are quite beautiful little birds.

Location: rural Norman Co. Mn.

3 little American Redstarts almost ready to leave their nest. But since this photo was taken the biggest one did leave the nest and though I am not sure more than likely the other two as well by now. The biggest one which is the upper one was flapping its wings a lot in the nest and the adult female was trying to coax it out of the nest. I had to leave and go recharge my camera battery and by the time I got back he was out of the nest.

One other odd thing ... while all 3 little redstarts were in the nest and the female was away from it a cowbird laid an egg right by the little redstarts. My guess is that the redstarts will continue getting their young out of the nest and leave the area tending to their young out of the nest. Fortunate these 3 were old enough and ready to leave so the cowbird couldn’t interfere with the outcome. I am not fond of cowbirds ones I have seen are rather ugly baby birds. Most often the host birds offspring are crowded and starved out by the ugly baby cowbird. Kind of gross but I guess part of the natural world. Still not liking it though.

The little redstarts are really cute and have a lot of character. Redstarts do not seem to mind me at all and have had adult males right below my feet at times as well as some females. The biggest baby redstart left the nest early sometime in the afternoon on June 19, 2021. The two others were still in there but like mentioned probably left by now. It has been raining all day so haven’t been out to check or anything. Maybe will if it quits. They are pretty cute.

Location: rural Norman Co. Mn.

I managed to get a look into the empty nest. What I thought the other day when I partially could see in it that the egg was broken. Turned out to be bird poop and the egg was still there but the redstarts gone. This isn’t a good photo because it was on a slope and I couldn’t steady the camera very well. But you can see it is still there. A person sees and learns a lot out in nature sometimes. Photo is from this morning.

Location: rural Norman Co. Mn.

The female jumped off the nest and the male came and fed the 2 nestlings. He paused for several seconds looking over the nestlings then left the nest and the female returned.

It was really neat seeing how caring the adults are at tending to their young etc. Also very beneficial when it comes to helping control insects.

Location: Rural Norman Co. Mn.

The female darted off the nest and the male brought food for the hatchlings in the nest. The male paused for a while and the female returned with food for the young too. The male exited the nest site quickly. He’s a nice little bird.

Location: rural Norman Co. Mn.

Location: Norman County, Mn.

… Spring 2021 a male redstart in its breeding plumage. It was checking trees in its territory for possible nest sites. I have seen the male do that before females arrive. If a female shows interest he will try show her potential areas suitable for a nest to be built. She may choose one he shows her or she may look to see if there are any others she herself might find. Cute when they go around together trying to decide on a site to build a nest.

The little male redstart was out in some woods by a small creek in Norman County, Mn. checking out a small elm tree.

Location: Victoria, MN

Sighting by six-year-old Silas Houck

Location: Maple Grove, MN

Noticed several striking black/orange/white small birds darting all over our water garden area and did not recognize them.

Finally found a photo of the male American Redstart that matched what we were seeing. So happy to get a sharp photo when one finally got close to our kitchen window. Having dead tree branches and logs in your garden encourages birds to perch up higher on them and often gives you a clearer look at them and hopefully a better photo too. Sure hope these interesting birds come back again next spring. I’ll be watching for them.

Location: rural Norman Co. Mn.

I have observed many redstarts over the past several seasons. They do not seem to care if they get a bit dingy or dirty hunting for insects, defending their territories etc. They will dart over, up, down, under and through places just to find food etc.

One thing that I found really interesting is that some redstarts can go down to the water looking dull and dingy but after they bathe and dry off are brighter in color than before. With some it made me wonder if it was the same bird. Hyperactive, sometimes fanning tails and displaying their color patches they are hard working little birds that even though may appear drab or dull at times some clean up nicely. Orange and red orange etc. color patches do vary from bright to less bright with orange tinting from almost red(orange-red) to yellow orange. Wing and tail color patches can be lighter than the color patches on the front side areas. Observed both a male and a female redstart with off-white tail feather areas. Like many birds they are beneficial at helping control insects.

Location: rural Norman Co. Mn.

They can be beautiful when they want to be. I know them well.  

Location: Mounds View, MN

First sighting ever in a marshy area behind my property catching lunch and dinner.

Location: Lino Lakes

A pair of American Redstarts feed on insects all day

Location: Kellogg MN

Location: Saint Michael

Scratching the ground looking for food. Flitting up and down into our apricot trees in our front yard. First ever sighting.

Location: Monticello, MN

Location: Cottonwood, MN

Location: Mankato, MN

Blue Earth River Valley I don’t recall ever seeing one prior.

Location: Farmington, Minnesota

Near our home by Dakota County Fairgrounds. In small brush area by South side of house.

Location: Askov Mn

Location: Forest Lake, MN

Encountered a male flipping foliage over looking for insects.

Location: Clear Lake, MN

Location: On deck in East Bethel

Saw on edge of deck for about 10 seconds. Never saw one before!

Location: Ramsey, MN

Multiple male and female birds in narrow track of forested area in backyard. Noted splaying of tail and swooping to catch insects while eating.

Location: Credit River Township

spotted in woods. Never seen one before. 

Location: Norman County, MN

Adult male American Redstart

Location: Norman County, MN in the woods at my brothers rural home.

Adult male at the nest about to feed a small insect to two newly hatched nestlings

Location: Norman County, MN in the woods at my brothers rural home.

Adult female on her nest in the woods.

Location: Big Woods, Nerstrand, MN

Location: Stillwater mn

Have never seen one in my yard before. Pretty exciting! Was hanging out by our little pond for hours.

Location: Denmark Township, MN

Unmistakable markings, especially the tail.