Whitestart

Whitestarts are New World warblers in the genus Myioborus. The English name refers to the white outer tail feathers which are a prominent feature of the members of this genus ("start" is an archaic word for "tail"). The species in this genus are also often called "redstarts".

Whitestart
Slate-throated whitestart, Myioborus miniatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Parulidae
Genus: Myioborus
Baird, 1865
Species

See text

The stronghold of the whitestarts is northern South America, although a few species range along the Andes as far south as north-western Argentina, while others range north through Central America and as far north as the United States, in the case of the painted whitestart. Most species are restricted to mountain forest and woodland. The ancestral Myioborus warblers, together with those in the genus Basileuterus seem to have colonised South America early, perhaps before it was linked to the northern continent, and these two genera provide most of the resident warbler species of that region.

Name

The name "redstart" is commonly used in Central and North America, while "whitestart" has gained wider use in South America. Whitestart is the name used for all species in this genus by the International Ornithological Congress,[1] while the Clements checklist, and the American Ornithological Society's North and South American Classification Committeess use "redstart".[2][3][4] Myioborus species are not closely related to the various species called redstarts in the family Muscicapidae or to the American Redstart.

Species

The genus contains 12 species:[1]

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Myioborus pictusPainted whitestartArizona and New Mexico in the southern United States to Oaxaca,Veracruz and Chiapas in Mexico to northern Nicaragua.
Myioborus miniatusSlate-throated whitestartMexico, Central America, the Andes from western Venezuela to northwestern Argentina, the Venezuelan Coastal Range, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the tepuis
Myioborus brunnicepsBrown-capped whitestartBolivia and north-western Argentina
Myioborus flavivertexYellow-crowned whitestartSanta Marta Mountains in Colombia.
Myioborus albifronsWhite-fronted whitestartwestern Venezuela
Myioborus ornatusGolden-fronted whitestartAndes of Colombia and far western Venezuela.
Myioborus melanocephalusSpectacled whitestartsouthern Colombia to Bolivia
Myioborus torquatusCollared whitestartCosta Rica and western-central Panama
Myioborus pariaeParia whitestartParia Peninsula in Venezuela
Myioborus albifaciesWhite-faced whitestarttepuis of south-western Venezuela
Myioborus cardonaiGuaiquinima whitestartCerro Guaiquinima in south-eastern Venezuela.
Myioborus castaneocapillusTepui whitestartTepuis in southern Venezuela, western Guyana and northern Brazil.

Descriptions

Most whitestarts are 13–13.5 cm (5.1–5.3 in) long with dark grey or dark olive-green upperparts, except for the white outer tail feathers which are frequently spread in display. Adults have brightly coloured red, orange or yellow bellies. Many species have contrasting black, rufous or yellow caps or distinctive facial patterns, often with white or yellow "spectacles" around the eye.

The painted whitestart, the most northern form, is larger (15 cm (5.9 in) long) and has a different plumage pattern, song and behaviour from the other whitestarts. It is also the only species which is partially migratory, and it could perhaps be placed in a separate genus.

The sexes are similar, as with most resident tropical warblers, since they pair for life, and have little need of sexual dimorphism, unlike many migratory species where the males need to reclaim territory and advertise for mates each year.

Distribution and habitat

The whitestarts are resident in mountain (including tepui) forest, woodland and shrub, where they feed on insects, sometimes as part of a mixed-species feeding flock.

References
  1. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "New World warblers, mitrospingid tanagers". IOC World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  2. "Checklist of North and Middle American Birds". American Ornithological Society. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  3. "South American Checklist". American Ornithological Society. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  4. "Clements Checklist". Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  • Curson, Quinn and Beadle, New World Warblers ISBN 0-7136-3932-6
  • Stiles and Skutch, A guide to the birds of Costa Rica ISBN 0-8014-9600-4
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