Black Redstart
Phoenicurus ochruros
The Black Redstart is an insectivorous bird, easily identifiable by its dark gray plumage, highlighting the presence of the alar whitespot and the red tail.
Its scientific name expresses its relevance: Phoenicurus is the gender the black redstarts of the Palearctic belong to and drifts from the specific restrictive assigned by Linnaeus to the species which he classified as Motacilla phoenicurus; ochruros is a Greek root word resulting from the contraction of the words okros (ocher) and oura (tail).
Its peculiar singing with traits is similar to the European – robin but with notes of a metallic timbre.
Text: João E. Rabaça