Best time to see: mid Apr to mid Sep

Key facts

Trim bird with a chestnut tail and a cheerful warbling song

Habitat: open woodland and parkland with mature trees, occasionally gardens

Uncommon summer visitor, wintering in northern tropical Africa

Recognition

Orange-red tail, male has white forehead/black face, female buff brown; 13–14 cm

Perches openly, fluttering from branch to branch, or flying out or down to the ground to catch insects

Lifecycle

In courtship display the male droops its wings and splays its tail, bowing and chasing the female

Nest is a cup in a hole in a tree or occasionally a bank

Two broods of 6–7 pale blue eggs, May to June