118 FAMILIAR WILT) BIRDS. 



this country^ as a plaintive twittering or piping note i^ 

 about the extent of its utterances. 



The Redwing is smaller than the common Thrush, but 

 in all other respects it bears a strong resemblance to this 

 favourite songster. The principal distinctions between 

 this bird and the Thrush are these : the Redwing is small 

 in the body, and of a longer and more slender shape ; 

 the back is darker, the feathers beneath the wings are of a 

 bright rust colour, and the light line over the eye is very 

 distinct and noticeable. Unlike the Thrush, the Redwing 

 IS seldom or never found to visit small gardens or cabbage 

 plots, but invariably frequents the open fields in flocks of 

 various dimensions. The Redwing, although not averse to 

 snails as an article of food, exhibits none of the amusing 

 expertness in extricating them from their shells which 

 is shown by the Thrush. The Redwing is about eight 

 inches long, the tail measuring rather more than 

 three and a quarter inches. The beak is blackish, 

 and yellowish at the base of the lower mandible ; toes, 

 light yellow ; legs, pale grey ; the claws are long and 

 curved. The head, neck, back, rump, and lesser wing- 

 coverts are olive-brown, and a distinct mark of yellow- 

 ish-white runs from the nostrils to some little distance 

 behind the eye. A similar stripe surrounds the cheek, 

 which is beautifully streaked with yellow; the throat 

 and breast are whitish-yellow, with a profusion of 

 dark-brown triangular-shaped spots, the sides and vent 

 being also spotted with olive-brown. The sides, the lower 

 wing-coverts, and the pen-feathers are mottled with dark 

 reddish-brown, the feathers of the wing-coverts being 

 tipped with orange ; the tail is greyish-brown, and lighter 

 at the extremity. The female is lighter in plumage than 



