Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Common Redstart - Kaliningrad

I took a photo of a beautiful bird in a park in Kaliningrad, which is city in an oblast of Russia by the same name, sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania. I have spent several hours trying to identify it and I think I've now done it. 
Common redstart in Kaliningrad. The white forehead is particularly pronounced. 
The common redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) has two subspecies. The nominate subspecies, P. p. phoenicurus is found all over Europe and into Siberia. The male has a slate-gray head and upperparts, except the rump and tail, which are orange-red, as are the flanks, underwing coverts and axillaries. It has a white forehead and the sides of the face and throat are black. The wings and two central tail feathers are brown. The other tail feathers are orange-red. The orange on the flanks shades to almost white on the belly. The bill and legs are black. 

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