Black redstart
Phoenicurus ochruros (S. G. Gmelin, 1774)
The black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) is a small bird in the family Muscicapidae, part of the group of songbirds and other perching birds. Adults weigh 16.5 g, with reported values from 16.3 to 16.7 g, and have a wingspan of 25 cm.
Quick facts about the black redstart
It is an invertivore at the omnivore trophic level, lives in rocky habitats, has a perching lifestyle and is partially migratory. It lays 4.9 eggs per clutch with 2 clutches per year, incubates eggs for 13 days, and is listed as Least Concern, not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- 16.3 g – 16.7 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 25 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 9.29 years – 10.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- rockysrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 13 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.9src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the black redstart?
Photos of the black redstart
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the black redstart live?
Not recorded
What is the black redstart?
The black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It is a widespread breeder in rocky habitats across Eurasia and North Africa, from the British Isles south to Morocco and east to central China. It is resident in the milder parts of its range, but northern and eastern birds migrate.
From the Wikipedia article “Black redstart” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_redstart&oldid=1379730757), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the black redstart sound like?
Is the black redstart endangered?
The black redstart is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the black redstart classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyMuscicapidae
- genusPhoenicurus
- SpeciesPhoenicurus ochruros (S. G. Gmelin, 1774)
Synonyms Erythacus tithys, Lusciola tithys, Motacilla atrata, Motacilla erythrourus, Motacilla ochruros, Phaenicura nipalensis, Phoenicura atrata, Phoenicura nipalensis, Ruticilla atrata, Ruticilla cairii, Ruticilla erythroprocta, Ruticilla indica, Ruticilla montana, Ruticilla nipalensis, Ruticilla titys, Saxicola tithys, Sylvia tites campylonyx, Sylvia tithys
Other names and names in other languages (111)
- فرخ السمنArabic
- الحميراء الدبساءArabic
- حميراء دبساءArabic
- حميراء سوداءArabic
- cagoneruAsturian
- carboneraAsturian
- rabu coloráuAsturian
- raitán moruAsturian
- Qaraca odquyruqAzerbaijani
- Рудахвостка-чарнушкаBelarusian
- Домашна червеноопашкаBulgarian
- Домашна червеноноопашкаBulgarian
- কালা গির্দিBangla
- Rulosteg duBreton
- cotxa fumadaCatalan
- Coa-roja de BarracaCatalan
- Cua-roja fumadaCatalan
- Шим тылгекMari
- Хура вутхӱреChuvash
- rehek domácíCzech
- tingoch duWelsh
- Cynffongoch DuWelsh
- Llostrhuddyn DuWelsh
- Llostrudd DuWelsh
- Tinboeth DuWelsh
- Tingochion DuWelsh
- HusrødstjertDanish
- HausrötelGerman
- HausrotschwanzGerman
- ΚαρβουνίαρηςGreek
- ΚαρβουνιάρηςGreek
- nigra ruĝvostuloEsperanto
- Colirrojo tizónSpanish
- must-lepalindEstonian
- Buztangorri ilunBasque
- دم سرخ سیاهPersian
- mustaleppälintuFinnish
- Dimmur velrey?iFaroese
- dimmur velreyðiFaroese
- Rubiette titysFrench
- Rouge-queue noirFrench
- rougequeue noirFrench
- Rougequeue titysFrench
- Suartbüket ruadstörtNorthern Frisian
- Earrdheargán dubhIrish
- Ceann dubhanScottish Gaelic
- Ceann-deargan dubhScottish Gaelic
- Rabirrubio tizónGalician
- Kiaulleyder dooManx
- Thoyn-yiarg ghooManx
- חכלילית סלעיםHebrew
- mrka crvenrepkaCroatian
- Crvenrepka kovačCroatian
- házi rozsdafarkúHungarian
- Կարմրատուտ սևուկArmenian
- Սևուկ կարմրատուտArmenian
- HúsaskottaIcelandic
- Codirosso spazzacaminoItalian
- クロジョウビタキJapanese
- შავი ბოლოცეცხლაGeorgian
- Хара хызыл хузурухkjn
- Қошқыл қызылқұйрықKazakh
- 검은머리딱새Korean
- Tyngough duCornish
- HausroutschwanzLuxembourgish
- RoedbroenstartrotsliesterLimburgish
- dūminė raudonuodegėLithuanian
- melnais erickiņšLatvian
- циганчеMacedonian
- Црна (Планинска) црвеноопашкаMacedonian
- വിറവാലൻ കുരുവിMalayalam
- Kudirross IswedMaltese
- Мойлон галсүүлтMongolian
- थिरथिर्याMarathi
- कृष्ण थिरथिराMarathi
- zwarte roodstaartDutch
- svartraudstjertNorwegian Nynorsk
- svartrødstjertNorwegian
- RamonaireOccitan
- Rouche-tcheue noèrPicard
- kopciuszek zwyczajnyPolish
- KopciuszekPolish
- kopciuszek (zwyczajny)Polish
- rabirruivo-pretoPortuguese
- CarvoeiroPortuguese
- Pisco-ferreiroPortuguese
- RabirruivoPortuguese
- Rabirruivo-comumPortuguese
- Cuacotschna da chasaRomansh
- Codroş de munteRomanian
- Codroș de munteRomanian
- Горихвостка-чернушкаRussian
- ČáhppesleaibeloddiNorthern Sami
- žltochvost domovýSlovak
- šmarnicaSlovenian
- pikthi bishtkuqAlbanian
- bishtkuqi zashkanAlbanian
- Bishtkuqi zeshkanAlbanian
- Crna crvenrepkaSerbian
- Црна црвенрепкаSerbian
- Vrtna crvenorepka - Вртна црвенорепкаSerbian
- svart rödstjärtSwedish
- DrzikwostSilesian
- นกเขนสีดำThai
- kara kızılkuyrukTurkish
- Кара кызыл-кудурукTuvinian
- горихвістка чорнаUkrainian
- CoarossaVenetian
- Chim Đuôi đỏ núi đá trán đenVietnamese
- 赭紅尾鴝Chinese
- 赭红尾鸲Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the black redstart
Other species in the same genus Phoenicurus.
Common redstart
Phoenicurus phoenicurus
White-winged redstart
Phoenicurus erythrogastrus
Daurian redstart
Phoenicurus auroreus
Eversmann's redstart
Phoenicurus erythronotus
Moussier's redstart
Phoenicurus moussieri
Blue-fronted redstart
Phoenicurus frontalis
CompareBlack redstart vs Common redstartBlack redstart vs White-winged redstartBlack redstart vs Daurian redstartBlack redstart vs Eversmann's redstart
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How big is the black redstart?
The black redstart weighs 16.5 g, with reported values from 16.3 to 16.7 g. Its wingspan is 25 cm.
What does the black redstart eat?
The black redstart is an invertivore. Its trophic level is omnivore.
Is the black redstart endangered?
No. It is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the black redstart live?
The black redstart has a lifespan of 9.3 years, with values reported up to 10.2 years.
How many eggs does the black redstart lay?
The black redstart lays 4.9 eggs per clutch and has 2 clutches per year. Incubation lasts 13 days.
What kind of animal is the black redstart?
The black redstart is a bird in the family Muscicapidae and the order Passeriformes, grouped with songbirds and other perching birds.
Does the black redstart migrate?
Yes, the black redstart is partially migratory.
Who named the black redstart?
The black redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros, was named by S. G. Gmelin in 1774.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-redstart
“Black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-redstart.
@misc{black_redstart_2026,
title = {Black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-redstart},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}