Tim writes: I know it isn’t a perfect photograph but there is so much of interest going on here I thought it was worth sharing. First of all I was quite pleased to capture a bird in flight feeding its begging youngster, but the fact that it is a Redstart makes it much more interesting. Most shots of this type are of garden birds, which is difficult enough.
Second it shows the fiery orange tail spread out, which is the feature that gave rise to the name Redstart. Start (originally steort) was a name given to the posterior extremity of any animal, but was a euphemism for the backside (which is itself a euphemism). So the name Redstart literally means red-arse. The term stark naked was originally steort naked, meaning naked, even to the tail (ie bare-arsed). The scientific name Phoenicurus is of similar origin. The Greek word phoenix was used for various shades of red and ouros means tailed, and comes from the same origins as the now vulgar term arse.
And finally, the third interesting thing is that the insect being fed to the youngster is a Red-necked Footman moth (Atolmis rubricollis) which is quite scarce in Yorkshire at least. Now a moth that has the combination of black and red with a bright yellow abdomen should really be poisonous with this as an easily recognisable warning colouration. Poisonous moths with black, red and/or yellow include Burnets, Cinnabar and various Tiger Moths. But all poisonous moths sequester their poison from larval foodplants, and this caterpillar feeds on lichens growing on conifers. So not a poisonous moth at all. And I photographed this female Redstart bringing in a second of these moths, so it certainly passed the taste test on the first one. Here is a montage of shots of the moth that I made so you could see both sides: https://www.flickr.com/photos/timmelling/48166999482/sizes/l/
You can see the juvenile Redstart on the left is very similar to its mother, but more speckled on the plumage, rather like a juvenile Robin, which is closely related.
[registration_form]
Brilliant Tim. Thank you.