White-capped Redstart (Phoenicurus leucocephalus)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

White-capped Redstart

Phoenicurus leucocephalus Vigors, 1831

≈18 cmLength30 gWeight

This black-bodied bird has a red belly and a single white crown patch and often occurs beside mountain streams.

Busiest months: February · Most records: China, India, Bhutan

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. White patch on the crown
  2. Upperparts black
  3. Underparts red

Male, female and young

Sexes alike in color.

Where and when it's recorded

White-capped Redstart has been recorded at 429 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 12 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. SattalIndia779 records
  2. Doi Inthanon NPThailand394 records
  3. Forest Research Institute (FRI), New Forest CampusIndia314 records
More places
  1. Corbett NP – DhikalaIndia299 records
  2. Corbett NPIndia271 records
  3. Balang Shan – Tunnel AreaChina258 records
  4. Tangjiahe NNRChina243 records
  5. Balang Shan [General Area]China238 records
  6. Gajoldoba Barrage JGIndia225 records
  7. Mahananda WLS – Rongtong and Shivakhola ForestIndia203 records

Countries and regions with the most records

ChinaIndiaBhutanNepalThailandTajikistanPakistanMyanmar (Burma)

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The white-capped redstart or white-capped water redstart (Phoenicurus leucocephalus) is a passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae native to the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, much of China, and to certain regions of Central Asia.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the White-capped Redstart?

The White-capped Redstart is about ≈18 cm long and weighs around 30 g.

Where does the White-capped Redstart live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: Central Asia through the Himalayas to central, northeastern China, northern Myanmar, northern Thailand and northern Indochina. It is most often recorded in China, India and Bhutan.

When is the best time to see the White-capped Redstart?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in February (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the White-capped Redstart endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the White-capped Redstart as Least Concern.

What does the White-capped Redstart eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the White-capped Redstart in?

It belongs to the family Chats, Old World Flycatchers (Muscicapidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length
≈18 cm
Weight
30 g
Habitat
Rivers & streams
Diet
Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle
Active on the ground
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
90 mm
Tail
73 mm
Bill
17 mm
Tarsus
28 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Palearctic: Central Asia through the Himalayas to central, northeastern China, northern Myanmar, northern Thailand and northern Indochina

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Chats, Old World Flycatchers Muscicapidae
Genus
Phoenicurus

Other birds in the genus Phoenicurus

Eversmann's RedstartEversmann's RedstartPhoenicurus erythronotusBlue-fronted RedstartBlue-fronted RedstartPhoenicurus frontalisBlue-capped RedstartBlue-capped RedstartPhoenicurus coeruleocephalaWhite-throated RedstartWhite-throated RedstartPhoenicurus schisticepsPlumbeous Water RedstartPlumbeous Water RedstartPhoenicurus fuliginosusLuzon Water RedstartLuzon Water RedstartPhoenicurus bicolorPrzevalski's RedstartPrzevalski's RedstartPhoenicurus alaschanicusBlack RedstartBlack RedstartPhoenicurus ochrurosCommon RedstartCommon RedstartPhoenicurus phoenicurusMoussier's RedstartMoussier's RedstartPhoenicurus moussieriDaurian RedstartDaurian RedstartPhoenicurus auroreusHodgson's RedstartHodgson's RedstartPhoenicurus hodgsoni
White-capped Redstart

Download illustration

Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/). ↗

WebP · 1070 px

Heard it but can't see it? Mingji identifies birds by sound and photo, on your phone.

In other languages