Jun 2

Bird of the day

Collared whitestart

Myioborus torquatus

The collared whitestart (Myioborus torquatus), also known as the collared redstart, is a tropical New World warbler endemic to the mountains of Costa Rica and western-central Panama.

The collared whitestart is around 13 centimetres (5 in) in length with a weight of 10.5 grams (0.4 oz). It has a chestnut crown bordered with black, and a black forehead. The rest of the upper parts are slaty black, and the tail is black with white edges, hence the bird's name: "start" is an old English word for "tail". The face and underparts are bright yellow, with a black band across the breast.

The sexes are similar, but young birds are duller, with a browner back, weakly yellow underparts, and the head entirely slate-coloured, with no yellow on the face or red on the crown.

Aliases

Myioborus torquatus

Range

Range map of Collared whitestart