Redwing
Turdus iliacus
Habitat
Ground
Diet
Omnivore
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
61 g
About This Species
Redwings move in loose, vocal flocks through hedgerows, orchards, and open fields, dropping to the ground to probe for worms and take fallen fruit, and their thin, high seep call overhead is often the first sign of an arriving flock. They breed in birch and willow scrub across Fennoscandia, Iceland, and Russia, then winter across much of western and southern Europe, sometimes moving further when hard frost locks up the ground. Late autumn through winter is the best time to see them, particularly after cold snaps push flocks into gardens and berry-laden hedges.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Keep a reasonable distance, ideally tens of metres, since flocks are easily flushed and repeated disturbance during hard weather can cost birds badly needed feeding time when reserves are already low.
- As a species of conservation concern with a declining population, avoid approaching roosting or feeding flocks directly and never use recordings or flash photography to draw a reaction.
- Legal protection for wild birds varies across its European range, so treat it as protected everywhere and avoid nest sites during the breeding season regardless of local specifics.
Seasonal Activity
1,767,471 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Turdidae
Traits
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 61 g
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.