Blue-fronted Redstart Phoenicurus frontalis

Blue-fronted Redstart Phoenicurus frontalis

Male Blue-fronted Redstart, Mo Chu River, Wangdue Phodrang, Bhutan, March 2008 - click for larger image

Bhutan

The Blue-fronted Redstart is distributed from eastern Afghanistan through the Himalayas to southern China. It breeds in subalpine scrub and rhododendron as well as in grassy areas above the tree-line although it winters at lower elevations down to about 1,000 metres.

The male, seen here in photos 1 to 3, has a blue head, throat, back and wings with a light blue forehead. The remaining underparts are rufous-orange as is the undertail except for the large black tip.

The female in photos 4 and 5 is a dull grey-brown with a tail pattern similar to the male.

Photo 5 shows a female in the middle of a very tight circle it was flying from the perch in the centre of the photo. It did this several times for no apparent reason though I assumed it was hawking for tiny insects. They feed mainly on insects during the summer but rely on seeds and berries during the winter.

Male Blue-fronted Redstart, Kori La, Mongar, Bhutan, April 2008 - click for larger image

There is a recording on xeno-canto and additional information is available via Avibase.

Female Blue-fronted Redstart, Shemgang, Bhutan, March 2008 - click for larger image

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