Moussier's Redstart
Scientific Name: Phoenicurus moussieriMaltese Name: Fjamma tat-Tunezija
Family: Chats and thrushes (Turdidae)
Occurence: Vagrant
Breeds in Malta: No
Overview:
The male Moussier's Redstart is a beautiful bird to watch. It has a black head with a broad white stripe running above each eye and down the side of the neck. The upperparts are black other than a white wing patch, and the rich chestnut tail, from which it and other redstarts get their names. The underparts are a rich orange-red.
It is an endemic resident breeder in the Atlas Mountains of northwest Africa. Its habitat is open woodland in rocky areas up to 3000 m altitude in the mountains. Its nest is built in a bush or on the ground. Moussier's Redstart feeds both like a flycatcher, making aerial sallies after passing insects, and it by picking insects while hopping on the ground.
Status:
Vagrant to the Maltese Islands, with only about 10 records. The latest records were one in 2008-2009 when 1 adult Male spent the whole winter at Majjistral Natural Park and one in 2010 when a female was recorded on various dates in a field in the limits of Siggiewi.
When to See:
Mostly recorded in March with some records in Winter months.
Photographs:
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Male Moussiers Redstart, December 2008, Majjistral Natural Park |
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| Male Moussiers Redstart, December 2008, Majjistral Natural Park | Male Moussiers Redstart, December 2008, Majjistral Natural Park |
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Female Moussiers Redstart, December 2010, Limits of Siggiewi |
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