4 BULLETIN 196, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



but the first of these, where it is scanty. The interior of the mouth 

 is gamboge yellow with no spots, and externally the flanges are ivory- 

 colored. In the juvenal plumage the upperparts are less uniform than 

 in the adult, the feathers having darker tips and pale-buflish, drop- 

 shaped central streaks, while the rufous on the flanks is scarcely devel- 

 oped. At this stage it is extremely like the young song thrush, 

 except for the prominent light eye stripe, which at once distinguishes 

 it. The first winter plumage can only be distinguished from that of 

 the adult by white tips to the innermost secondaries and pale buff 

 tips to the greater coverts. In the subsequent summer these distinc- 

 tive tips often wear off. 



Food. — Jourdain (1938, vol. 2) states that the food of the typical 

 race in winter is as follows: "Worms, Mollusca (snails, Helix aspersa 

 and nemoralis, slugs, Agriolimax and even Avion, lacustrine univalves 

 and bivalves, Sphaerium, etc.). Insects: Coleoptera (Melolontha 

 larvae, weevils, etc.), Lepidoptera (Noctuidae, larvae and pupae), 

 Diptera (larvae of Tipulidae), Orthoptera, etc. On sea-shore Crus- 

 tacea (small crabs, Talitrus and Orchestia). Berries of hawthorn, 

 yew, rowan, holly, Vaccinium." 



No exact details on food in the breeding season seem to be available 

 for the typical race. In Iceland the food is recorded as consisting of 

 insects (Coleoptera and larvae of Lepidoptera), worms, and many 

 berries and skins of berries of the previous year, and the young are fed 

 on caterpillars, small Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and worms (Hantzsch). 

 In British-killed examples of the Iceland race Dr. J. W. Campbell has 

 recorded Mollusca (Cochliocopa lubrica and Succinea sp.), Coleoptera 

 (larvae of Carabidae and Barynotus), and Diptera (larvae of Bibion- 

 idae and ? Tabanidae). 



In general, the redwing tends to take more animal food and is less 

 addicted to feeding on berries in winter than other thrushes, though, 

 as noted above, it does take berries to some extent. 



Behavior. — To observers in the British Isles the arrival of the red- 

 wings is one of the notable ornithological events of autumn, for this 

 species and its relative the fieldfare are the two most generally dis- 

 tributed and common winter visitors. One day, probably in October, 

 redwings will be found once again feeding in the fields, or perhaps the 

 first notice of their arrival will be given by their unmistakable thin 

 flight call as flocks pass over at night. Outside the breeding season 

 the redwing is thoroughly gregarious. The birds get most of their 

 food on open grassland, and the delicately built, dark forms widely 

 scattered over the fields, and often mingled with the larger and more 

 robust-looking fieldfares, provide a pleasant picture. Their food, 

 which, as more fully described in the relevant section, consists mainly 

 of worms, insects, and other invertebrates, is obtained from among 



