THE REDSTART 



By T. GILBERT PEARSON 



die J^ational Hsissoctatton of Hububon ^octettes; 



EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 86 



Of all our Warblers, extremely active birds though they are, not one dis- 

 plays so many different motions in one short minute as a Redstart. It dashes 

 to and fro, up and down, in and out of the shrubbery, hither and yon, with 

 infinite variety of movements, like some brilliant, intoxicated butterfly, whose 

 exuberance and energy are utterly boundless. It is a small bird, only about 

 four and three-quarters inches long, but by its song and activity it keeps itself 

 much more in evidence than many a bird twice its size. 



"Ching, ching, chee; ser-wee, swee, swe-e-e he sings, and, with wings and tail 

 outspread, whirls about, dancing from limb to limb, darting upward, floating 

 downward, blown hither and thither like a leaf in the breeze. But the gnats 

 dancing in the sunlight and the caterpillars feeding in the shade of the leaves 

 know to their sorrow that his erratic course is guided by a purpose." So writes 

 Frank M. Chapman. 



All during the song-season the male Redstart makes his presence known, for 

 he is an unusually constant singer and may be heard at almost any time of the 

 day. Some observers say he has two distinct songs, others say he has three, 

 while still others aver that the bird has as many as five or six. Gerald Thayer, 

 I believe, is authority for the statement that about his home at Monadnock, 

 New Hampshire, the Redstarts have what he considers three comparatively 

 constant songs, which serve as the basis for all other varieties of their music. 



For my part, I have found the Redstart's song to be bewildering and diffi- 

 cult of identification more times than I care to admit. When, in spring, I find 

 myself in a locality where Warblers are singing, if I can remain there a day or 

 two and find what species are in song, and watch, and think hard, my memory 

 is at length refreshed to the extent that I soon begin to feel sure of distinguishing 

 the Redstart's tune with some degree of confidence. Others have at times 

 guardedly hinted that they have experienced similar difficulties in remembering 

 from year to year the Redstart's notes. It is certainly true that to any but 

 those with particularly gifted ears the song of this bird lacks any striking char- 

 acteristic, such as we all readily recognize in that of many others, the Ovenbird, 

 for instance, or the Wood Thrush. 



The nest of the Redstart is made of leaf-stalks, thin strips of bark, plant 

 down, and similar soft vegetable materials. Usually it is fined with fine rootlets 

 or dehcate tendrils. Apparently it is always placed in the crotch of a sapling two 

 to fifteen to twenty feet from the ground. One favorite situation, in which I 



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