Redwing

Name: Redwing

Scientific name: Turdus iliacus

Category: Birds

Nature Stars: 50

What are nature stars?

About:

A small thrush, about 20cm long. Dark brown above, with a white belly streaked with black and with bright red flanks and underwing. Redwings have a very smart face pattern, with a white eyebrow stripe and white moustache surrounding dark brown cheeks.

Redwings travel in flocks, often with other thrushes like blackbirds and fieldfares. They can often be seen feeding on farmland or in hedgerows where they search for energy-packed berries. They migrate here from Scandinavia and mainland Europe in winter, often by night. Listen for their soft peeping calls on darkening evenings as they fly overhead. 

How to identify: Similar to Song Thrush, but with a bold white eyebrow stripe and bright red flank patch spreading under the wing.

Where: A widespread winter visitor

Natural Superpowers

• Predator: 50
• Agility: 60
• Rarity: 40
• Cute factor: 50
• Traveller: 80

Fantastic fact: A tiny population of Redwings nests in the far north of Scotland, but most of our birds come from Iceland and Scandinavia.

Photograph credit: Ómar Runólfsson