Black Redstart

The sweet little tweet takes you away from the spiraling office tower, sending you to the roots of a sacred tree settled in the middle of a silent forest frozen in time. Not a sound except for the friendly little birds bringing a natural few notes to the fresh air and letting a little bit of sun sink into your heart through the thick glass and concrete surrounding you. The Black Redstart is 13–14.5 cm in length and 12–20 g weight, similar to the Common Redstart. It is a widespread breeder in south and central Europe and Asia and northwest Africa, from Great Britain and Ireland (where local) south to Morocco, east to central China. It is resident in the milder parts of its range, but northeastern birds migrate to winter in southern and western Europe and Asia, and north Africa. It nests in crevices or holes in buildings. The species originally inhabited stony ground in mountains, particularly cliffs, but since about 1900 has expanded to include similar urban habitats including bombed areas during and after World War II, and large industrial complexes that have the bare areas and cliff-like buildings it favours; in Great Britain, most of the small breeding population nests in such industrial areas. It will catch passing insects in flight, and migrants often hunt in coastal tide-wrack for flies or tiny crustaceans. Its quick ducks of head and body are robin-like, and its tail is often flicked. The male has a rattling song and a tick call. This sound uses the following file from Freesound: http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=121112