redstart

[red-stahrt]

noun

any of several small, Old World thrushes, usually with reddish-brown tails, especially Phoenicurus phoenicurus (European redstart).

any of several fly-catching, New World warblers, especially Setophaga ruticilla (American redstart), having black and white plumage with reddish-orange patches.

Origin of redstart

1560–70; red¹ + obsolete start tail (Middle English start, stert tail, handle, Old English steort tail; akin to Old High German sterz, Old Norse stertr)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for redstart

Historical Examples of redstart

The structure on the apple bough was the redstart homestead.
Little Brothers of the Air
Olive Thorne Miller
It was a redstart nest without doubt, but who owned the baby?
Little Brothers of the Air
Olive Thorne Miller
Had, then, an owl paid a twilight visit, and could a redstart be surprised?
Little Brothers of the Air
Olive Thorne Miller
There was no doubt about his being a redstart baby, as I had been convinced from the first.
Little Brothers of the Air
Olive Thorne Miller
By this means Mrs. Pearson last summer found a Redstart's nest.
The Bird Study Book
Thomas Gilbert Pearson

British Dictionary definitions for redstart

redstart

noun

any European songbird of the genus Phoenicurus, esp P. phoenicurus, in which the male has a black throat, orange-brown tail and breast, and grey back: family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc)

any North American warbler of the genus Setophaga, esp S. ruticilla

Word Origin for redstart

Old English rēad red 1 + steort tail; compare German Rotsterz

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for redstart

type of bird, 1560s, from red (adj.1) + start "tail," from Old English steort. Cf. German Rotsterz.