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  Profile

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  In flight

Songbirds

Painted Redstart

Myioborus pictus

• rare
• 42 km/h
• Least Concern

Fans its white-patched tail to flush insects, then snatches them mid-air. The flashiest warbler working the pine-oaks.

Population

~600,000 mature individuals (IUCN 2020 global assessment), consistent with Partners in Flight's estimate of ~600,000 breeding individuals; population trend is decreasing but not rapidly enough to approach threatened thresholds

Habitat

Montane pine-oak/open oak woodlands and shady canyons, typically between 1,500-2,500 m elevation

Fun fact

Unlike most warblers, the female Painted Redstart sings just as well as the male, and pairs often bond by singing together during spring courtship — confirmed independently on Cornell's All About Birds life history page.

Range

Resident and short-distance migrant from the southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, and Big Bend, Texas) south through the Sierra Madre of Mexico to Nicaragua (subspecies M. p. guatemalae, Chiapas to northern Nicaragua, is non-migratory; the nominate M. p. pictus, Arizona/New Mexico to Oaxaca/Veracruz, migrates seasonally); Honduras occurrence is geographically plausible along this corridor but was not independently confirmed in sources checked this pass

Diet

Insectivorous; gleans and hawks insects from foliage and branches, often flushing prey by flashing its white tail and wing patches

Size

0.14 m

Wingspan

0.21 m

Lifespan

7 years