The American redstart (*Setophaga ruticilla*) is a lively, energetic wood-warbler found across much of North America during the breeding season, and is widely considered one of the most visually striking and behaviorally animated of all the warblers. The adult male is a showstopper, dressed in jet-black plumage set off by brilliant flame-orange patches on the sides of the breast, the wings, and the base of the tail, creating a bold, fiery pattern that flashes vividly as the bird moves — while females and immature males replace the black with gray and the orange with soft yellow in the same pattern. The redstart has a distinctive and almost constant habit of fanning its tail and drooping its wings as it forages, flashing its colorful patches in a behavior thought to startle insects into flight so they can be caught — earning it the nickname "candelita," or little torch, in Latin America. It is an insectivore that gleans and sallies for small invertebrates with remarkable agility, flitting and spinning through the foliage with almost butterfly-like restlessness. A long-distance migrant, the American redstart breeds in deciduous and mixed woodlands across the eastern United States and Canada and winters in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America, where it is one of the most commonly encountered wintering warblers.
