American Redstart

Look for

Male: a striking black-and-orange warbler — glossy black body with flame-orange patches on wings, tail, and flanks. Flashy and restless. Female & first-year male: gray-olive with yellow patches where the male has orange. Same body shape, same behavior.

Size: ~5" — small warbler.

Listen for

• Song: a variable, sputtery, high-pitched "tsee-tsee-tsee-tsee-weep" — often with a sharp final accent.
• Call: a sharp "chip" in the understory.

Where in Memphis

Migration visitor only — peaks early-to-mid May (spring) and early-to-mid September (fall). Doesn't breed here. Look for them:

• Overton Park Old Forest — classic migration trap
• Meeman-Shelby bottomlands
• Wolf River Greenway
• Lichterman Nature Center

Behavior

• Tail-flashing. They constantly fan and drop the tail, flashing the orange/yellow patches — probably to startle insects into moving.
• Active foragers — dart, hover, flycatch, spiral through branches.
• One of the most animated warblers — easier to spot than many because they never hold still.

Story

"Candelita" — little candle

Latin American birders call it "candelita" ("little candle") — a reference to the male's glowing orange against dark forest. The name captures how vivid the bird is on a spring morning.

A Memphis migration highlight

Every birder's "spring day in Overton Park" list usually includes American Redstart. They're reliable, they're flashy, and they're everywhere during peak migration weeks. Most Memphis birders have their first personal Redstart story set in Overton.

Where they actually live

They breed in Canada and the northern U.S. (deciduous woodlands), winter in the Caribbean, Mexico, and northern South America. Memphis gets them twice — a week in spring, a week in fall.

Fun facts

• First-year males look like females — they don't get full orange-and-black until their second fall molt.
• They're in the same genus (Setophaga) as Yellow-rumped, Magnolia, and many other warblers — the biggest warbler genus.
• The scientific name ruticilla means "red-tail" (Latin).
• Oldest known wild American Redstart: 10+ years.