The Daurian redstart

A female Daurian redstart is seen at the Liuhuashan area of Shenzhen Bay Park in Nanshan District on Jan. 2. Wang Haolan

The Daurian redstart

While walking past the sweet-scented osmanthus, plumeria or bougainvillea trees in local parks, the acute observer may catch a short, high-pitched whistling call made by a sparrow-sized bird. Perched prominently on a lower branch while frequently bobbing its tail, this small passerine bird is the Daurian redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus), a common migratory bird in Shenzhen in winter.

最近，深圳各大公园里低矮的四季桂、缅栀花、簕杜鹃等树木上，常常会传来一阵阵“滴”，“滴”的短促哨音。循着声音一路找去，很快就能在显眼的树枝上发现一个麻雀般大小的身影，一边叫着，一边有规律地上下抖动着尾部，它就是深圳常见的雀形目冬候鸟——北红尾鸲。

A male Daurian redstart is seen at Honghu Park in Luohu District on Nov. 11, 2021. Wang Haolan

Like most species of the flycatcher family, the Daurian redstart shows strong sexual dimorphism in the appearance of male and female individuals. Males have a gray cap and nape, black face and orange underbelly and tail. Their wings are black overall, yet decorated with a pair of triangular white patches. Females have a brownish body and wings, white eye rims and the same white wing patches and an orange tail just like the male. The species, which is around 13 to 15 cm in length, has big brown eyes, and itsbeak and legs are black.

北红尾鸲和大部分鹟科鸟类一样具有二形性，雄鸟和雌鸟的外表殊异：雄鸟头部及枕部银白色，脸黑色，躯干及尾部亮橙色，翅上覆羽黑色，具显著的倒三角形白色翼斑；雌鸟总体呈褐色，尾部亦为橙色，有白色眼圈，同时也和雄鸟一样具白色倒三角翼斑。它们总体身长13至15厘米，虹膜深褐色，喙和脚皆为黑色。

A female Daurian redstart is seen at the Liuhuashan area of Shenzhen Bay Park in Nanshan District on Jan. 2. Wang Haolan

In Shenzhen, Daurian redstarts often reside in forest edges, parks, gardens and even some housing estates with lush vegetation. They like to perch on unsheltered tree branches, lower stumps and top of pillars or fences in search of insects, and will immediately return to their original searching spot after dashing out for food, showing the typical behavior of flycatchers. Small as it is, the species is a total insectivore, mainly consuming small insects and their larvae.

在深圳，北红尾鸲主要出没于林缘、公园、花园及绿化较好的小区。它们通常会展现典型的鹟科鸟类习性，喜欢站立在裸露的树枝、木桩或柱子及栏杆的顶部寻找昆虫，锁定目标后立刻出击，得手后又立刻返回先前站立的位置。北红尾鸲体型虽小，却是不折不扣的食虫鸟，主要以鞘翅目、鳞翅目、直翅目、半翅目、双翅目、膜翅目等昆虫成虫和幼虫为食。

A female Daurian redstart is seen at a Shenzhen park in this file photo. Isaac Cohen 

Daurian redstarts are also highly territorial and may choose to stay in the same wintering habitat every year unless disturbed. They will become more aggressive during breeding seasons between late April and July, during which time males guard the nest and ward off intruders while females lay and incubate the eggs alone.

这种小型候鸟的领地性极强，从抵达越冬地至离开都不会改变栖息地点，只有在遭受严重威胁的情况下才会离开。每年4月末至7月繁殖季期间，它们还会展现出强烈的护巢行为，其中雄鸟负责在领地警戒并驱赶入侵者，雌鸟则独自抱窝孵蛋。

A female Daurian redstart is seen at the Liuhuashan area of Shenzhen Bay Park in Nanshan District on Jan. 2. Wang Haolan

As its English common name indicates, the Daurian redstart originates from the Dauria Steppe, a vast grassland spanning across Northeast China, east Mongolia and Russia’s Zabaikalsky province and Buryat Republic. The small birds will leave their breeding grounds in Northeast and Northwest China in early autumn, travel more than 3,000 kilometers to their wintering grounds to the south of Yangtze River in late October and relocate back to the north in the coming March, embracing their next generations and the cycle of life.

北红尾鸲的英文常用名中的“Daurian”，指示本物种的模式产地位于地跨中国东北部、蒙古东部及俄罗斯的后贝加尔斯克省和布里亚特共和国的达乌里草原地区。每逢秋风乍起之时，这些小鸟就会从位于中国东北及西北省份的繁殖地启程，于10月末抵达逾3000公里外的长江以南地区开始越冬，及至第二年三月又再度启程，顺应生物钟的号召完成北上迁徙、繁衍后代的大业。