Redwing

Overview

Redwing: Medium-sized thrush with brown upperparts, dark-spotted white underparts, and rufous flanks. Eyebrows are white and conspicuous. Bill is yellow with black tip. Deep rufous-orange underwing linings are visible in flight. Swift and strong direct flight on rapidly beating wings.

Range and Habitat

Redwing: Native of Eurasia; strays occasionally to Newfoundland and is accidental to Long Island, New York during winter. Found in deciduous and mixed woodlands in summer and open fields and thickets during winter.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Redwing was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae in 1758 under its current scientific name.
It is not closely related to the Red-winged Blackbird, a North American species sometimes nicknamed "redwing".
The English name derives from the bird's red underwing. The binomial name derives from the Latin words Turdus, "thrush", and ile, "flank". A group of redwings are collectively known as a "crowd" of redwings.

The Redwing is a member of the thrush family, and is native to Europe and Asia. Its breeding grounds include northern areas of these countries, as well as southern Iceland, northern Scotland, Scandinavia, the Baltic States, northern Poland and Russia. Recently, this bird has been found in northern Ukraine, southern Greenland, and Eastern Europe. During winter months, the Redwing migrates to western, central and southern Europe, northwestern Africa, southwest Asia and northern Iran. Its natural habitat is coniferous and birch woodlands and tundra. Nests are built on the ground, and diets consist of insects, worms and berries. The conservation rating for this species is Least Concern.