Joe Kahlo
Characterized by its famous chestnut ‘crown’ found on top of an electric yellow face and breast, blue/black collar and wings, this bird is unlike any other.
Also known as the collared whitestart, this tropical bird is native to Central America and is part of the warbler family.
These tiny birds are on average 5 inches in length and only weigh around 11g.
Unlike most other birds, both male and female look alike, whereas youths have an overall duller plumage.
Males and females look pretty much alike. Juveniles though are duller overall, with a brown back, pale yellow under plumage.
They are regularly found in the mountains of Northern Costa Rica and Western Central Panama.
They prefer to live in high altitudes, and heights of 5,000 ft are common for them. You can often find them in mountain forests and ravines.
Their diet consists of insects caught at high altitude where it will fan its striking tail as it pursues its prey.
They and have even been known to follow humans and cattle to feast on the insects they flush.
March to May is their breeding season, during this time they build a unique domed nest that has a side entrance.
They use materials such as fibers, dry bamboo leaves and tree ferns to build the next.
Even though they favour high altitudes, they build their nests on the ground and conceal them in a grassy back or under a rock.
Collared redstarts are fairly common and are their population is not currently threatened.
