Description:

Medium sized, only redstart with inverted-T pattern on tail, orange rump and tail sides. Male has blue head and upperparts and chestnut-orange underparts; heavily obscured by rufous-brown fringes in non-breeding and first-winter plumage. Female has dark brown upperparts and underparts, with orange wash to belly.

Distribution:

Common resident and altitudinal migrant in south and central Gilgit-Baltistan, absent from Baltistan region. Breeds in subalpine dwarf juniper, birch scrub and open grassy areas above tree-line at 2500-4500m; winters in bushes and open forest.

Behavior:

Forages by making short flights from perch; also occasionally hawks flying insects. Tail wagged up and down more than quivered. Feeds predominantly on insects (grasshoppers, bugs, beetles, caterpillars, flies and also spiders) in summer, but in autumn and spring berries and seeds also taken; in winter exclusively vegetable material.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Blue-fronted Redstart in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Blue-fronted Redstart

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.