Bird Sightings: Redwing

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Bird Sightings : Hebrides : Redwing

Redwing

Turdus iliacus

Gaelic: Deargan-sneachda

Photograph © Debbie Bozkurt
Nealie's Field - Balinvanich - Outer Hebrides (Western Isles)
23rd November, 2006

Picture of Redwing

Turdus iliacus

Resident Breeder, Passage / Winter Visitor

Summer: 2 -22 pairs breed in UK, AMBER LIST,

Winter: 750,000 in UK BTO, Arrive: September - October, Leave: March - April

Breeds: North Europe (not WI), Asia

Winters: South Europe - UK, South Asia

Habitat: Northern birch or conifer forest & tundra scrub

UK smallest thrush, sexes similar, plain brown back, streaked white below, orange-red flanks & underwing, creamy-white stripe above eye, forms large flocks (with starlings & fieldfares), lives to 18 years

Diet: Omnivorous: Insects, earthworms (plus berries autumn & winter)

Listen redwing RSPB site

Similar bird song thrush

"In the Western Isles the darker Icelandic race predominates (almost exclusively that race in spring)" Andrew Stephenson

Winter Visitor, Passage Migrant

Redwing live for up to 18 years.

The redwing is a true thrush, the smallest we get in the UK. (19 to 23cm)

At rest a redwing is very similar to a song thrush. It is a rather shy bird, and prefers to feed on open land rather than in small gardens.

The bill of a redwing is pale with a black tip, and the legs are pale pinkish brown.

Redwing are dark russet-brown above and have white underparts which are heavily streaked.
It is the Redwing that has a white stripe above the eye which goes from the back of the head to the bill, another beneath it's cheek and glowing chestnut-red patches on it's flank.

Male and female look alike.

In flight the underwing can be seen, and it is a distinctive red giving the bird it's name.

The first redwing on the Isle of Great Bernera in Autumn 2006 were reported to us on October 11th, they are usually seen from the end of September onwards, they come to over-winter in our milder climate! At this point a few Redwing had been about in the Southern Isles for a while, the majority of which appeared to be Scandinavian ones, in the Western Isles we usually have the darker Icelandic race predominating (almost exclusively that race in spring)

About 750,000 birds overwinter in the UK.

Most leave in April heading off to breed in Northern Scandinavia and Iceland.
Only a few pairs nest in the UK. (30 to 50 pairs) There have been just two or three records of pairs breeding in the Western Isles.

They often travel and feed in flocks with fieldfares.

Redwings eat berries and worms, they strip Rowan trees bare!
Their beaks are a great design for pecking at apples, and the birds feed readily on them when available.

Thanks to Andrew Stephenson for the information about the Icelandic Redwings.

See a photograph of a Redwing in a typical setting taken by Andy in October 2006, or another close-up photograph of a Redwing by Debbie

Debbie's online photo album

Other local bird photographs

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