One of the 4 thrushes on WAnimals
Birds · Passeriformes · Turdidae
Redwing
Turdus iliacus
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
The smallest of the European thrushes, compact and with a relatively short tail. It is identified by the broad whitish eyebrow above the eye and by the rusty red of its flanks and underwing coverts, very visible in flight. Both sexes look alike.
Weight
60 g – 65 g
Size
19 cm – 23 cm
Lifespan
4 years
Diet
Omnivore
Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
In pairs
Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Estimated population
The European breeding population is estimated at between 16,200,000 and 28,100,000 mature individuals according to the 2021 European Red List of Birds
Fun facts
- GeneralIt migrates at night, and its calls carry down to the ground as it passes.
- In the olive groves of southern Spain a study found that 86% of its winter diet was plant matter, and of that fraction 97% was olives: in the Altiplano of Granada they call it "aceitunero", the olive-eater.
- It is so nomadic and so unfaithful to its wintering areas that the Iberian wintering population can swing between several million and a few thousand from one year to the next.
- Being fruit-eating in winter it acts as a seed disperser and contributes to reforestation, a process called ornithochory.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Boreal birch woods; olive groves and copses in winter
- Birth weight
- Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
- Size at birth
- Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
- Sexual maturity
- 1 year
- Gestation / incubation
- About 13-15 days
- Litter / clutch size
- 4-6 eggs, with two clutches a season and occasionally a third in Iceland
Sources consulted: SEO/BirdLife (ficha y III Atlas de las aves en época de reproducción en España); IUCN Red List; Asturnatura; Santos y Tellería 2022, III Atlas; Lista Roja Europea de Aves 2021; Santos 1985; SEO/BirdLife 2012, Atlas de las aves en invierno
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: From October to March in Spain, with the bulk of the wintering between November and January
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 83 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Redwing — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Fieldfare
Turdus pilaris
Common Blackbird
Turdus merula
Song Thrush
Turdus philomelos
Mistle Thrush
Turdus viscivorus
Ring Ouzel
Turdus torquatus
Eurasian Collared Dove
Streptopelia decaocto
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about redwing.
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