Common Redstart

The common redstart is a small passerine of the genus Phoenicurus, 13–14.5 cm long and 11–23 g, the same length as a black redstart but slightly slimmer and lighter. It shows some affinity to the European robin in its habits and actions, with a similar carriage and chat-like behaviour. The orange-red tail, frequently quivered, gives redstarts their name, start being an old word for tail; among common European birds only the black redstart has a similarly coloured tail (Wikipedia, general species account).

It prefers open mature birch, oak or, particularly in the north of its breeding range, conifer woodland with high horizontal visibility and little shrub and understorey, especially where the trees are old enough to have holes suitable for nesting. Five or six light blue eggs are laid during May, with a second brood in midsummer in the south of the breeding range. The cached account does not describe its Indian range. SoIB 2023 lists it as a winter migrant of non-specialised habitat that eats invertebrates, without a priority category (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).