2026 new name
Painted Redstart is now the Painted Whitestart
The Painted Redstart has a new name: the Painted Whitestart. The American Ornithological Society (AOS) made the change on October 20, 2026, for the whole group, so the rare Slate-throated Redstart is now the Slate-throated Whitestart too. It's the same bird, so your count stays the same. eBird's yearly update, expected October 27, usually follows the AOS; what eBird changes is certain only once it publishes.
Updated
What changed
Oak canyons and pine-oak forests in the mountains of the Southwest, mostly above 5,000 feet. Most leave the US in fall and return early in spring.
Why was the Painted Redstart renamed?
Because its tail is white, not red. “Whitestart” means white tail, and these birds fan their white-edged tails to scare up insects. The AOS adopted Whitestart for the whole group on October 20, 2026, in the 67th Supplement to its Check-list, matching AviList and the IOC World Bird List, which already said Painted Whitestart.
eBird still said Painted Redstart when we checked on October 22, 2026. Its yearly update is expected on October 27; it usually follows the AOS, but its new names are certain only once it publishes.
Is the American Redstart renamed too?
No. The change covers only the whitestarts, the genus Myioborus. The American Redstart, Setophaga ruticilla, is a different kind of warbler and keeps its name.
Surprising facts about the Painted Whitestart
The females are just as showy. Unlike most warblers that nest in the US, female Painted Whitestarts are as bright as the males, says Audubon's field guide.
It was named in a picture book. William Swainson described it in 1829 in his Zoological Illustrations, on a plate of its own, from a bird taken at Real del Monte in Hidalgo, Mexico, AviList's record of the first description shows. It's the same Swainson the Western Warbling Vireo is named for.
It nests on the ground. The nest sits in a shady spot on a steep slope, often on the wall of a narrow canyon, under a bank or beside a small boulder.
It drinks at hummingbird feeders. Besides insects, it comes to feeders for sugar water, and pairs sometimes sing duets.
It wanders. Though it rarely strays, it has turned up as far away as British Columbia and Massachusetts, says Audubon's field guide.
Why the name changed
Because its tail flashes white, not red. These warblers fan their white-edged tails to flush insects, the AOS proposal explains, and “whitestart” means white tail. “Redstart” comes from Old English words for red and tail, Michael Retter of the American Birding Association writes, and no bird in this group has red in its tail. Of the twelve or so species, ten are yellow and gray; only the Painted, and in the north the Slate-throated, show much red.
The old name was a mistake of kinship. The group was once thought close to the American Redstart and took its name; William Swainson even first named this bird Setophaga picta, in the American Redstart's genus, AviList's record of its first description shows. A 2025 family tree of the warblers places it nearer Wilson's Warbler and the Golden-crowned Warbler, the proposal says.
It took five tries. Proposals to switch were turned down in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2016, when the AOS committee voted 8 to 2 to keep Redstart. The 2026 proposal came from the team behind the eBird/Clements Checklist, which noted that AviList, the IOC World Bird List and many field guides already used Whitestart. Birders got there first: Hilty and Brown's 1986 A Guide to the Birds of Colombia offered “whitestart” as another name, and field guides spread it from there, Retter notes.
Who decided, and when
- AviList, the shared world checklist: already used the name Painted Whitestart
- American Ornithological Society (AOS): the 67th Supplement to its Check-list, after its committee passed proposal 2026-B-14
- eBird and the Clements Checklist: hadn't renamed it yet when we checked. Its yearly update is expected on October 27, 2026; eBird usually follows the AOS, but what it changes is certain only once it publishes
Which other birds are now whitestarts?
Every Myioborus warbler. On the AOS's list of North and Middle American birds there are three, Retter lists: the Painted Whitestart; the Slate-throated Whitestart, once the Slate-throated Redstart, which has strayed into the US; and the Collared Whitestart of the mountains of Costa Rica and Panama, once the Collared Redstart.
Which bird is it?
Nothing to tell apart: it's the same bird under a new name. Look for a black warbler with a red chest, a white wing patch and white outer tail feathers, flitting through oaks with its wings and tail half spread.
What it does to your list
Nothing changes but the name. In the AOS's checklist your Painted Redstart is now the Painted Whitestart, and a Slate-throated Redstart the Slate-throated Whitestart. eBird still says Painted Redstart until its update, expected on October 27, 2026; if it follows the AOS, as it usually does, the new name will show on your eBird list then, and your count won't move.
Birdfolio books print the names eBird used in 2025, from AviList's June 2026 edition, so your book still says Painted Redstart; AviList's own name for it has been Painted Whitestart since 2025.
Other renamed birds: the Thick-billed Longspur, once McCown's Longspur. Another 2026 change for birders of Arizona's mountain canyons: the Tufted Flycatcher split.
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