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Black redstart are small, active little summer residents in Europe, with a somewhat hauty appearance: they usually sit in a very upright alert posture with the beak elevated. Adult males (upper images) have a striking black 'bib' extending from the throat to the belly. Females and juvenile males have the same shape, 'attitude', and rufous tail, but are brownish-gray. Unfortunately, the species is fond of buildings, fences, chimneys, and other unattractive man-made structures as perches, so I have few photos of males in 'natural' conditions. These were photographed near a nest in the rafters of a breezeway at a field station on the edge of Biebrza National Park in northeast Poland, and in the small town of Bialowieza in eastern Poland. Black redstarts share much of their range with a more colorful close relative, the common redstart. |
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