black redstart by Pratim Das

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PAKHI DEKHUN PAKHI CHINUN (Observe the Bird and recognize)..BLACK REDSTART...[From a Photograph of SUDHIR GARG]....WATERCOLOUR...A4...2013...The Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family (Turdidae), but is now known to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscicapidae). This species belongs to a Eurasian clade which also includes the Daurian Redstart, Hodgson's Redstart, the White-winged Redstart, and maybe the Ala Shan Redstart. The present species' ancestors diverged from about 3 mya (Late Pliocene) onwards and spread throughout much of Eurasia from 1.5 mya onward. It is not very closely related to the Common Redstart. As these are separated by different behaviour and ecological requirements and have not evolved fertilisation barriers, the two European species can nonetheless produce apparently fertile and viable hybrids. There are a number of subspecies which differ mainly in underpart colours of the adult males; different authorities accept between five and seven subspecies. They can be separated into three major groups, according to morphology, biogeography, and mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data. The Black Redstart is 13–14.5 cm in length and 12–20 g in weight, similar to the Common Redstart. The adult male is overall dark grey to black on the upperparts and with a black breast; the lower rump and tail are orange-red, with the two central tail feathers dark red-brown. The belly and undertail are either blackish-grey (western subspecies; see Systematics, below) or orange-red (eastern subspecies); the wings are blackish-grey with pale fringes on the secondaries forming a whitish panel (western subspecies) or all blackish (eastern subspecies). The female is grey (western subspecies) to grey-brown (eastern subspecies) overall except for the orange-red lower rump and tail, greyer than the Common Redstart; at any age the grey axillaries a