redstart
noun
red·start
ˈred-ˌstärt 
1
: a small Old World songbird (Phoenicurus phoenicurus of the family Muscicapidae) with the male having a white brow, black throat, and chestnut breast and tail
2
: an American warbler (Setophaga ruticilla of the family Parulidae) with a black and orange male
Examples of redstart in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And the American redstart — a jetblack little fellow with orange splashes — pretty much stopped breeding here in the early 2000s.
—
Ari Daniel, NPR, 10 Sep. 2025
These two male common redstarts are having a territorial fight in a meadow orchard.
—Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
Black redstarts are less than 6 inches long and weigh only 0.03 pounds, according to The Wildlife Trusts.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 18 Mar. 2025
During a tour of the surrounding salt marshes, visitors can view Wilson’s snipes and belted kingfishers scanning the water for prey, while the park’s forests are perfect for spotting passerines like the common yellowthroat, American redstart and northern cardinal.
—Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
American redstarts and magnolia warblers reliably appeared together in the researchers’ nets in spring and fall.
—Alexa Robles-Gil, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Sep. 2024
More recently, in a study published in Biology Letters, Eikenaar and his colleagues trapped common redstarts, which migrate from Europe down across the Sahara Desert in Africa every year.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 17 Apr. 2023
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Ari Daniel, NPR, 10 Sep. 2025
These two male common redstarts are having a territorial fight in a meadow orchard.
—Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
Black redstarts are less than 6 inches long and weigh only 0.03 pounds, according to The Wildlife Trusts.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 18 Mar. 2025
During a tour of the surrounding salt marshes, visitors can view Wilson’s snipes and belted kingfishers scanning the water for prey, while the park’s forests are perfect for spotting passerines like the common yellowthroat, American redstart and northern cardinal.
—Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
American redstarts and magnolia warblers reliably appeared together in the researchers’ nets in spring and fall.
—Alexa Robles-Gil, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Sep. 2024
More recently, in a study published in Biology Letters, Eikenaar and his colleagues trapped common redstarts, which migrate from Europe down across the Sahara Desert in Africa every year.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 17 Apr. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Redstart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/redstart. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
redstart
noun
red·start
ˈred-ˌstärt
: an American warbler with a black and orange male
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