Muscicapidae

Blue-fronted Redstart

Phoenicurus frontalis

A winter visitor with a fiery orange belly.

Seen atKunja

Opens recordings on xeno-canto, the open bird-sound archive.

In the Lap of Nature

What the hills call it

Thirthira

/ thir·thi·raa /थिरथिरा

HindiBird

Blue-fronted Redstart — A winter visitor with a fiery orange belly.

Field notes

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae · Old World flycatchers
Genus: Phoenicurus
Length: 14–16 cm
Weight: 14–22 g
At Kunja: Winter visitor — down from the high mountains in the cold months
Conservation: Least Concern

How to know it

A winter redstart — the male deep blue above with a fiery orange belly and tail; the female brown with the same orange tail. Constantly flicking that tail.

What it eats

Insects and berries, taken from the ground and from low perches.

Where & when to spot it

Around the gardens, terrace edges and bushy slopes through winter, perching low and dropping to the ground to feed.

Nesting & mating

Breeds higher up in the mountains in summer; nests in a rock-crevice or bank, raising three to five young.

In the field

When we’ve seen it

Most often photographed in December, usually in the middle of the day. That makes winter a clear window to spot it around the homestay.

Spotting tip: head out in the middle of the day, walk slowly and stop often, and listen as much as you look — most of these birds call before they show themselves.

In the lens