Meera Bhardwaj:
On a visit to the rocky scrublands of Hampi, Karnataka, I was surprised to the Common Redstart which was jumping and leaping around very fast and I was running fast to catch a glimpse of it.
Finally, it landed on an iron pipe where construction was going on in a farm stay. It was a female and naturalist Pompayya Malemath said it was not very often they are seen in these parts.
Compared to the vibrant male which is more colorful, the female is grayish-brown on its upper parts while the neck portion is buff white to light orange.
But if one has to identify this species, the tail is distinctive being rusty red. The underside of the female is light brown with some white patches here and there.
Since the female of common redstart and black redstart are almost similar, there are a few features by which one can identify. The common redstart female has a lighter plumage compared to the black redstart female. Further, another feature by which one can distinguish, is the common redstart has warm, buffy-brown breast as one can see in the image below.
Unlike other redstart species, the common redstart female does not have white wing patches. They are usually found near water bodies and since we were next to the Tungabhadra Right Bank Canal, it was not surprising that it had flown to this part of Karnataka.
The Common Redstarts are usually found in scrublands, mixed woodlands and at the edge of forests. A small passerine bird, they tend to perch straight and upright if one observes keenly.
Amidst the din of ongoing construction work, the common redstart female seems to be least bothered and was busy foraging in the farmland and looking for insects around a small pond in the farmland.
Despite being described as a drab bird, I thought the female was very cute with its bright rusty-red tail that was flicking often.
Common Redstarts are pretty active and are commonly found in drier regions during the non-breeding season and it was pleasure to see the bird amidst the ongoing construction work in the outskirts of Hampi, a World Heritage Site in Vijayanagar district of Karnataka.
(PHOTO CREDIT: ALL PICTURES BY MEERA BHARDWAJ AT KAMALAPUR, HAMPI, KARNATAKA)