redstart

[ red-stahrt ]

noun

1. any of several small, Old World thrushes, usually with reddish-brown tails, especially Phoenicurus phoenicurus European redstart.
2. any of several fly-catching, New World warblers, especially Setophaga ruticilla American redstart, having black and white plumage with reddish-orange patches.

redstart

/ ˈrɛdˌstɑːt /

noun

1. 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)
2. any North American warbler of the genus Setophaga , esp S. ruticilla

Word History and Origins

Origin of redstart¹

1560–70; red ¹ + obsolete start tail ( Middle English start, stert tail, handle, Old English steort tail; akin to Old High German sterz, Old Norse stertr )

Word History and Origins

Origin of redstart¹

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

Example Sentences

I may add that I have had the same bad luck in all my former visits to the Islands, and never seen a Redstart.

From Project Gutenberg

The male Black Redstart has also a white patch on the wing caused by the pale, nearly white, margins of the feathers.

From Project Gutenberg

Dippers, wagtails and the white-capped redstart were the commonest birds along the river-banks.

From Project Gutenberg

A brightly-coloured bird, the redstart, appears suddenly in spring, like a flower that has bloomed before the bud was noticed.

From Project Gutenberg

Of such are the redstart, the grey-headed flycatcher, the snipe and the majority of the game birds.

From Project Gutenberg