Firetail refers to two distinct birds depending on where you are in the world. In Australia, it names any small finch of the genus Stagonopleura, known for their striking red rumps and tails — tiny, vivid birds popular with aviary enthusiasts. In British dialect, it was the old folk name for the common redstart, a migratory songbird whose rust-orange tail is impossible to miss. Both uses share the same logic: that flashing, fire-colored tail. The word is one of those satisfying vernacular names that describes exactly what you see.
We spotted a firetail dart through the scrub, its red tail blazing as it disappeared into the undergrowth.
No comments yet — say something.
Any Australian finch of the genus .
No comments yet — say something.
(UK, dialect, dated) The common redstart.
No comments yet — say something.
Add your own interpretation of "firetail".
Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.