The collared whitestart (''Myioborus torquatus''), also known as the collared redstart, is a tropical
New World warbler
The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds that make up the family Parulidae and are restricted to the New World. They are not closely related to Old World warblers or Australian warblers. Mos ...
endemic to the mountains of
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
and western-central
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
.
Description
The collared whitestart is around in length with a weight of . It has a chestnut crown bordered with black, and a black forehead. The rest of the upper parts are slaty black, and the tail is black with white edges, hence the bird's name: "start" is an old English word for "tail". The face and underparts are bright yellow, with a black band across the breast.
The sexes are similar, but young birds are duller, with a browner back, weakly yellow underparts, and the head entirely slate-coloured, with no yellow on the face or red on the crown.
Behaviour
The call is a sharp ''pit'', and the song is a mixture of slurred whistles, warbles and trills.
The collared whitestart feeds on
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s, frequently fanning its striking tail as it pursues its prey. It will join mixed feeding flocks, and will follow cattle and occasionally humans for the insects they flush.
The roofed nest has a round side entrance and is built on the ground or a steep bank, hidden amongst rocks, tufts of grass or under a fallen log. It is constructed from strips of bark, plant fibres, leaves, and grass. From March to May, the female will lay 2 or 3 white or cream eggs that are speckled with fine brown spots. Incubation lasts about two weeks, but other nesting details are largely unknown.
Habitat
The collared whitestart is common at heights between 1500 m and the timberline in mossy mountain forests, ravines, second growth, and adjacent pastures.
References
* Curson, Quinn and Beadle, ''New World Warblers''
* Stiles and Skutch, ''A guide to the birds of Costa Rica''
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1156543
collared whitestart
Birds of Costa Rica
Birds of Panama
collared whitestart
collared whitestart