redstart Ornith.
(ˈrɛdstɑːt)
[f. red a. + start (ME. stert, OE. steort) tail: cf. red-tail 1. Parallel forms are Du. roodstaartje, Flem. -steertje († -steertken), Da. and Sw. rödstjert, G. rotsterz.]
1. a. A small European and North African bird belonging to the genus Phœnicurus of the family Turdidæ, esp. P. phœnicurus, so named from its red tail, which it has a habit of moving quickly from side to side.
| 1570 Levins Manip. 33/41 Redstarte, ruticilla. 1632 Sherwood, The Redstert, or Redtaile, rossignol de muraille, rubienne. 1657 Tomlinson Renou's Disp. To Rdr. c 2 Who can determine what becomes of Cranes, Cuckoes,..Red-starts, that some are seen onely in Summer, some in Winter? 1678 Phillips (ed. 4), Redstert (Rubicilla), a certain Bird so called from its red tail. 1774 G. White Selborne lx, The song of the redstart is superior, though somewhat like that of the whitethroat. 1829 E. Jesse Jrnl. Naturalist 204 We have no bird more assiduous in attentions to their young than the red-start. 1840 Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. 190 The White-fronted Redstart..is a common summer visitant in many parts of Britain. 1884 Jefferies in Chamb. Jrnl. 1 Mar. 131/1 A brightly coloured bird, the redstart, appears suddenly in spring. 1925 C. E. Raven In Praise of Birds vi. 76 Not far off was a Redstart's nest in a piece of old iron piping. 1950 J. Buxton Redstart xi. 132 Am I to describe as redstarts only those species which are placed in the genus Phoenicurus? 1973 T. Soper New Bird Table Bk. iii. 31 Redstarts and woodpeckers are hole-nesters. |
b. black redstart, a related species, Ruticilla titys, occurring in southern England and common on the European continent.
| 1836 Eyton Rarer Brit. Birds 7 Black Redstart. Ficedula Tithys. This Redstart inhabits chiefly the warmer parts of Europe. 1894 Newton Dict. Birds 776 The males of the Black Redstart seem to be more than one year in acquiring their full plumage. |
c. attrib. with warbler (= prec. senses).
| 1817 Shaw Gen. Zool. X. ii. 670 Redstart Warbler. (Sylvia Phœnicurus.) Ibid. 673 Grey Redstart Warbler. (Sylvia Gibraltariensis.) |
2. An American fly-catching warbler, Setophaga ruticilla, outwardly resembling the common European redstart but generically distinct from it.
| 1731 M. Catesby Nat. Hist. Carolina I. 67 The Red-Start... These Birds frequent the shady Woods of Virginia. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 211 Red Start, Ruticilla Americana. 1808 Wilson Amer. Ornith. I. 105 The American Redstart builds frequently in low bushes. 1812 Ibid. V. 119 The Redstart extends very generally over the United States. 1831 Audubon Ornith. Biog. I. 202 The insect secured, the lovely Redstart reascends, perches, and sings a different note. 1894 Newton Dict. Birds 777 The American Redstart.., belonging to the purely New-World Family Mniotiltidæ, and to a genus which contains about a dozen species. 1947 R. T. Peterson Field Guide to Birds (ed. 2) 208 The Redstart is one of the most butterfly-like of birds. |
† 3. (See quot.) Obs.
| 1738 E. Albin Nat. Hist. Birds III. 52 This Bird was brought from Bengall in the year 1734, without any Name being affixt to it;..I shall beg leave to call it by the Name of the Bengall Redstart. |