Slate-throated Redstart

How to find it

One birder says you almost always meet it once you climb up from the Caribbean lowlands. Scan for a warbler constantly fanning its tail and half-opening its wings. Check mixed-species flocks, since it is a regular member of them. Try forest edges and hedgerows beside pastures, where it comes lower. At Curi-Cancha it is seen close to the ground. You do not need to reach the highest ridges, because the middle elevations on both slopes hold it.

How to recognise it

Look for these marks:

A small warbler, about 12 cm long.

A blackish throat that contrasts with a deep yellow breast and belly.

A long, fan-shaped tail, blackish with white sides and bold white corners.

Dark gray upperparts and a reddish chestnut crown.

Belly colour varies by region across the species' range: yellow from Costa Rica southward, red in Mexico. Every Costa Rican bird shows yellow below. The chest also helps separate it from its close relative: the Slate-throated has a dark throat and chest, with the yellow starting lower down.

What it sounds like

Recording: Dan MacNeal, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

It hops and flits through foliage and along trunks and branches, often opening and closing its tail. The tail flash may scare up insects, which it then chases in the air. It less often picks them off bark or leaves.

Pairs stay together all year. They often travel with mixed-species flocks, so a flock passing through the forest is a good moment to scan for one. Naturalist groups describe it as a regular member of the mixed feeding flocks at Monteverde.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it is a common resident of the mountains. It lives from about 750 m on the Caribbean side and 1100 m on the Pacific side, up to about 2200 m. It is absent from drier areas such as the Central Valley.

It uses the high understory and lower canopy of mountain forest, and comes lower along forest edges, clearings, second growth and hedgerows beside pastures. Records span conservation areas including Arenal, Guanacaste, Tortuguero, Osa and the Amistad areas. A guide group calls it a common bird of middle elevation forests on both slopes.

When to see it

It breeds in April and May in Costa Rica. It is a resident and does not migrate.

Similar birds

Beginners in Costa Rica should think of this redstart and the Collared Redstart whenever they see a warbler fanning white tail feathers. The two are often found together. The Collared has a yellow face and a large black band across its chest, and it lives only in the highlands. Both give a sharp single-note call, but the Collared's is more penetrating.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Rican Spanish uses Candelita Pechinegra, shortened to Candelita on some reserve bird lists. Other countries use other names, such as candelita gorginegra in Nicaragua and chipe de montaña or pavito alas negras in Mexico. A Boruca name listed for the species is Turi yibí.

Status and conservation

It is a resident (R) on the AOCR list and Least Concern globally.

Photography tips

At Curi-Cancha it is seen close to the ground, but it flits so much that a good photo is hard to get. Be patient and watch for it near mixed flocks.