Five Birds, Four New Names, and a Long History of Mistaken Identity
I have photographed five species of birds bearing the name redstart. One in North America, others during my travels through Central and South America. Although they share a name, their appearances vary considerably. Some are striking combinations of black, red, and white. Others are predominantly gray and yellow.
In October 2026, the American Ornithological Society formally adopted Whitestart in place of Redstart for members of the genus Myioborus on its North and Middle American checklist. The decision brought its terminology into line with a name already used elsewhere, including for South American species.
Only the American Redstart retained its familiar name.
At first glance, this might seem like another example of ornithologists tinkering with bird names. But behind the change lies a fascinating story involving European naturalists, mistaken assumptions about evolutionary relationships, and a name that persisted long after scientists recognized its shortcomings.
And it all begins with a tail.
Where the Redstarts Began
The original redstarts were birds of Europe and Asia, members of the genus Phoenicurus in the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae.
Their name comes from an old English word, steort, meaning tail. A redstart, quite literally, was a bird with a red tail.
The Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) illustrates the name beautifully. Its reddish-orange tail is especially conspicuous when the bird moves, flicks, or spreads its tail feathers.
When European naturalists encountered a small, active bird in North America with similarly conspicuous orange patches in its wings and tail, they borrowed the familiar name.
The American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) became a redstart not because it was closely related to its European namesakes, but because it resembled them in certain aspects of appearance and behavior.
In reality, the American Redstart belongs to an entirely different family: the New World warblers, Parulidae.
The name had already crossed an evolutionary boundary.
How the Name Spread
The story becomes more interesting with another group of New World warblers.
During the nineteenth century, several birds now classified in the genus Myioborus were placed in or considered closely related to Setophaga, the genus containing the American Redstart.
Among them was the Painted Redstart, a spectacular bird of the mountains of Mexico and the southwestern United States.
The Painted Redstart’s vivid red breast, black upperparts, and conspicuous white markings made the borrowed name seem reasonable enough.
But there was a problem.
Its tail did not display the reddish-orange feathers that had inspired the name in the first place. Instead, its outer tail feathers were white.
Nevertheless, the name persisted, eventually extending to other members of Myioborus, including species that possessed little or no red plumage whatsoever.
By 1872, American ornithologist Elliott Coues was already using the name Redstart for both the Painted and Slate-throated species.
The naming tradition had taken hold.
A Family Resemblance That Wasn’t Quite What It Seemed
For many years, ornithologists regarded the American Redstart and the birds now called whitestarts as close relatives.
But advances in classification, particularly molecular studies of New World warblers, revealed a different evolutionary history.
Although both groups belong to the warbler family, Myioborus is not especially closely related to the American Redstart.
Instead, the whitestarts are more closely allied with other New World warblers, including members of the genera Cardellina and Basileuterus.
The scientific genus Myioborus was restored to the American Ornithologists’ Union checklist in 1976.
Yet the English name Redstart remained.
The scientific classification had changed, but the familiar common name continued to suggest a relationship that was no longer supported by the evidence.
The White Tail Tells Another Story
Spend time watching a whitestart forage, and the appropriateness of its new name becomes apparent.
These are remarkably active little birds. They move through foliage, frequently spreading and flicking their tails and wings, exposing flashes of contrasting white.
These movements are more than decorative.
Research on flush-pursuit foraging suggests that the conspicuous tail patterns and movements of these warblers can help disturb concealed insects, making them easier to capture.
The white tail is therefore not merely a convenient field mark. It is associated with a distinctive way of obtaining food.
And unlike the reddish tail of the original European redstarts, the white outer tail feathers are a characteristic shared throughout Myioborus.
The name Whitestart reflects something meaningful about both the appearance and natural history of these birds.
A Debate That Lasted Decades
The idea of calling these birds whitestarts is not new.
The alternative name appeared in ornithological literature decades before the 2026 decision. By the early 2000s, several influential field guides and international bird checklists were already using it.
But changing established common names has never been a simple matter.
Some ornithologists argued that familiar names should be preserved whenever possible. Bird names are part of a shared language among scientists, birders, and the public. Changing them can introduce confusion, particularly when the old names have been used for generations.
Others argued that Whitestart was both more descriptive and more consistent with modern knowledge of evolutionary relationships.
Formal proposals to adopt Whitestart were considered repeatedly, including in 2003, 2005, and 2016, without producing agreement.
In 2026, the AOS finally adopted the change for Myioborus.
The decision did not create new species or alter the birds themselves. It brought the English names into closer alignment with their physical characteristics, evolutionary relationships, and names already widely used elsewhere in the world.
Five Birds, Two Names
For me, this change is reflected in five species I have been fortunate enough to photograph.
The American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) remains an American Redstart.
The other four now carry different names:
- Painted Whitestart (Myioborus pictus)
- Spectacled Whitestart (Myioborus melanocephalus)
- Collared Whitestart (Myioborus torquatus)
- Slate-throated Whitestart (Myioborus miniatus)
The Spectacled Whitestart, which I photographed in Ecuador, is especially memorable. Its bright yellow facial markings contrast with its dark head, creating the appearance of spectacles. Like its relatives, it displays the characteristic white outer tail feathers.
Looking back at these photographs, I find it interesting that the birds themselves have not changed at all.
Only our understanding—and the language we use to express that understanding—has evolved.
The Five Former Redstarts
What’s in a Name?
Bird names are historical artifacts. They preserve the observations, assumptions, traditions, and sometimes mistakes of the naturalists who came before us.
Some names describe appearance. Others commemorate people or places. Still others reflect evolutionary relationships that later research has shown to be inaccurate.
The story of the whitestarts illustrates how ornithology continues to develop. A name that seemed reasonable more than a century ago can become less appropriate as knowledge accumulates.
For those of us who spend time observing and photographing birds, such changes offer an opportunity to look beyond the names and consider the organisms themselves.
Four of my redstarts have become whitestarts.
The photographs remain the same. The birds remain the same.
But their names now tell a more accurate story.
Sources and Further Reading
- American Ornithological Society. 2026. Sixty-seventh Supplement to the Check-list of North American Birds. Official AOS checklist supplement.
- South American Classification Committee. 2003. Proposal 63: Change English names of Myioborus “Redstarts” to “Whitestarts.” Original SACC proposal. Historical document; original link may be inaccessible.
- South American Classification Committee. 2026. Proposal 1073: Use “Whitestart” as the English name for species of Myioborus. SACC Proposal 1073.
- American Ornithologists’ Union, North and Middle America Classification Committee. 2016. Proposal 2016-A-2: Adopt “Whitestart” as the English surname of species of the genus Myioborus. Original proposal (PDF).
- Mumme, R. L. 2002. Scare Tactics in a Neotropical Warbler: White Tail Feathers Enhance Flush–Pursuit Foraging Performance in the Slate-Throated Redstart. The Auk 119(4):1024–1035. Research article.
Reflections of the Natural World
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