12 BRITISH BIRDS. WITH THEIR NESTS AND EGGS. 



in its range of any of the Thrushes, and occasionally wanders as far as 

 Greenland." 



To the British Islands the Redwing is a regular winter visitant, arriving 

 on our Eastern coasts either towards the end of October or early in November; 

 it is supposed to linger longest in the Hebrides, the last examples probably 

 leaving us during the month of April. The assertions which have, from time 

 to time, been made, that this species has remained to breed in Great Britain, 

 are not satisfactory, neither the birds or eggs having been secured as evidence 

 of the fact. 



The Redwing, when in breeding plumage, is, next to the Blackbird, the 

 most strikingly coloured of our Thrushes; its upper surface is olive brown; 

 a clear creamy white eye-brow stripe extends backwards to the nape; wing- 

 coverts with pale tips; the under surface is buff, gradually fading off into almost 

 pure white on the belly; the breast and throat broadly streaked with dark 

 brown; the flanks and under wing-coverts chestnut red, spotted with deep 

 brown. The sexes are very similar, the young, however, differ in having 

 their upper and under surfaces spotted. In general appearance the Redwing 

 is like a small Song Thrush, but its whitish eye-stripe and red flanks give 

 it a very distinctive character; when seen from the front it has a curious 

 resemblance to a frog. 



Soon after their arrival in this country Redwings may sometimes be 

 seen, even in our suburban gardens, feeding at twilight upon the berries of 

 the hawthorn. I remember on one occasion, chancing to look out shortly 

 before dusk at my garden, I was puzzled to see the entire length of a thick 

 hawthorn hedge which closed in the end of my plot of ground covered with 

 moving shadows. I ran for a field glass and discovered that no less than 

 thirty Redwings were fluttering up and down like huge moths in front of 

 this hedge, eagerly snatching off and swallowing the berries. The following 

 day I discovered that an unusually fine crop of haws had almost entirely 

 disappeared.* 



Seebohm says that " The favourite haunt of the Redwing is a sheltered 

 valley down which a little brooklet runs, with trees scattered here and there, 

 and tall hedgerows of thorn and hazel. They are very partial to small parks 

 thickly timbered and studded with clumps of white thorn trees, with here 

 and there a cluster of hollies or a dense shrubbery, whither they repair at 

 nightfall to roost." 



* The birds were clearly distinguishable with the glass as Redwings, not Fieldfares, the latter arrived 

 some weeks later and found hardly a berry left. 



