Diet: An American redstart perched after flying up and catching insects that had landed on a nearby observer. Warblers such as this, often avoid people, but warn out from migration, this little redstart prioritized food over everything else. American redstart are primarily insectivorous feeding on a variety of flying insects. To catch these insects, redstarts implement a variety of different strategies that range from feeding directly on insects hiding on branches and leaves to flying up and catching insects on the wing in short bursts. Sometimes they will only jump a couple centimetres into the air at a time. Insects hiding in vegetation can be harder to find. To catch these, the American redstart quickly lowers its posture and spreads their multicoloured tail feathers into a fan. This fast movement flushes the small insects into the air where they can more easily be captured by these areal acrobats.
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