American redstart

Setophaga ruticilla

The American redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) is a bird found in United States and Canada. Woods across North America; winters in Central and South America. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, fruit and seeds and nuts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Setophaga ruticilla
Region	North America
Found in	United States and Canada

🏡 Where the American redstart lives

Woods across North America; winters in Central and South America.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs80%
🍎 Fruit10%
🌰 Seeds & nuts10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It fans out orange-and-black tail feathers to startle insects.

Hear the American redstart

Recorded by David Darrell-Lambert (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1082125. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the American redstart

Where does the American redstart live?

The American redstart lives in United States and Canada. Woods across North America; winters in Central and South America.

What does the American redstart eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 80%), fruit (about 10%), seeds and nuts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the American redstart endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from North America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.