White-capped Redstart

White-capped redstart approximately the size of a red-bellied and red-backed redstart. Body length - 19 cm ^[4] . Addition is similar to addition of redstart, but the tail is shorter and more rounded. The legs are quite long. Setae at base of beak strongly developed.

The color of the white-capped redstart is bright. The crown of the white-capped redstart is white. The forehead, lateral parts of the head, humeral, wings, back and tops of the tail are black. Loin, Upper tail, Tail bases, Upper tail, Abdomen and flanks rusty red. In young birds, the white feathers of the crown have black borders, the black color is replaced by brown, on the dorsal side of the body at the top of the feathers there are buffy streaks, the ventral side of the body with dark feather bases and pale rusty-brown streaks (young birds with a black belly and chest are sometimes found) . Unlike the male red-bellied redstart, the wings of the water redstart are completely black, the color is brighter.

During landing, a water redstart often raises and lowers its tail, as nightingales do (black-chested red-necked, bluethroat ). This feature of the white-capped redstart is a characteristic only among the redstart. Singing is observed only during the mating season. Invocative voice - a deep lingering whistle.

This species is distributed from the east of Uzbekistan , Tajikistan and Afghanistan (it was recently registered in Kazakhstan ) east through the Himalayas to central and northeastern China , northern Myanmar and northern Indochina ^[1] . Birds live in subtropical and tropical meadows, temperate forests, also found near swamps, peat bogs, swamps, as well as on the stone coasts of rivers and streams ^{[5] [4]} .

The white-capped redstart is a sedentary bird, but undertakes seasonal vertical migrations . Autumn migration begins in early October, when redstart leave their main habitats due to the onset of adverse living conditions. In the winter season, the redstart descends quite low and occurs up to 900-1100 m above sea level. During the wintering, redstart are kept singly and in pairs. With the onset of spring, the white-capped redstart leaves the wintering grounds. Spring migration occurs in late February - early March and depends on the climatic conditions of individual years.

Reproduction

The breeding season runs mainly from late May to June, but nests were also found in August. The pairs in the white-capped redstart are constant, at least in old birds. Nest arranges in burrows on the shore or in the rocks ^[4] . The nests of the white-capped redstart are large, shaped like a bowl, made of moss, stalks of grass and other material and are lined with hair. In clutch usually 3-4 (very rarely 5) pale blue or pale green with reddish-brown spots of eggs. Their average size is 24.6 X 16.8 mm. Only the female incubates the chicks. Hatching lasts about two weeks and as many chicks remain in the nest.

Nutrition

In the summer, the redstart eats ants , locusts , small spiders , dipterans , beetles, and other insects . In winter, hawthorn berries, wild cherries , rose hips and other fruits of trees and shrubs growing along the banks of mountain rivers are eaten.