The Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus)

Clickhere for the bird's sound.

This pretty bird was popping up in my garden regularly once, but I haven't seen it the last five years or so. The best way to spot it was to peek through the fence into our neighbours garden, where the birds built a nest a few times. Especially the male loves to sing and he does so on a very striking place: on the top of my neighbours' flagpole!

This bird belongs to the family of Thrushes (Turdidae). It is very rare in our garden and can be seen in Holland april - october. The bird is 5,5" and weighs 15 grams. It lives in woodlands, gardens and parks mostly. It eats insects and spiders. Compared to the male, the female is brownish with almost no red. The breeding period is very extensive: from April until October. The nest is situated in holes in trees and five to six eggs are deposited. The birds sit on these for 12 to 15 days. In only 13 days the young are ready to depart the nest.