harpoon659 3 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 Seen at Riverbend Park in northern Virginia on 22 September, in a flock of confirmed Cape May, Magnolia, Palm, Tennessee, etc. Is this one an American Redstart female? Five views of what I think were all the same bird. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Colton V 801 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 (edited) Correct me if I’m wrong but I think the yellow spots on the base of the tail are unique to American Redstarts. This is a female. The males have basically the same pattern except they are black and orange instead of grey and yellow. Edited September 23, 2020 by Colton V 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlexHenry 1,788 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Colton V said: Correct me if I’m wrong but I think the yellow spots on the base of the tail are unique to American Redstarts. This is a female. The males have basically the same pattern except they are black and orange instead of grey and yellow. Agreed. A first fall male looks similar to a female but "should" show some black speckling around the head neck or breast. Edited September 23, 2020 by AlexHenry Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony Leukering 3,183 Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, AlexHenry said: Agreed. A first fall male looks similar to a female but "should" show some black speckling around the head neck or breast. Not until the prealternate molt; in fall and winter, they're, essentially, indistinguishable from females, unless one can see the upper-tail coverts well. Edited September 23, 2020 by Tony Leukering typo fix Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlexHenry 1,788 Posted September 26, 2020 Share Posted September 26, 2020 On 9/23/2020 at 10:17 AM, Tony Leukering said: Not until the prealternate molt; in fall and winter, they're, essentially, indistinguishable from females, unless one can see the upper-tail coverts well. Good to know! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
harpoon659 3 Posted October 1, 2020 Author Share Posted October 1, 2020 Many thanks to all for the confirmation! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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