Redwing Call MP3s
Contact and flock audio for one of Europe's smallest migratory thrushes, hunted seasonally in a handful of countries.
Also known as
Recordings (5)
About this species
Around 21 cm in length, the Redwing (Turdus iliacus) is a passerine songbird: the smallest thrush, marked by rusty-red flanks and a bold creamy eyebrow. It breeds in northern woodland and winters across open fields and orchards.
Migrating flocks call with a thin, high 'tseeih' that drifts down from the night sky. It feasts on berries, especially hawthorn and rowan, switching to worms in milder spells. It migrates by night in large numbers, its thin call drifting down from the darkness. On migration it moves through Greece and the Mediterranean in great numbers, a familiar bird of field, wood and garden.
Legal use
The Redwing is hunted under regulated national seasons in a limited number of EU countries, most notably Italy, where the national calendar typically pairs it with Fieldfare hunting through the autumn and into January, and France, where it is also listed among nationally permitted quarry species. Across most of its breeding range in Scandinavia, Iceland, and the UK it is not a quarry species and is fully protected. Given how narrow and country-specific the legal hunting window is, always verify current local regulations before use — see our full country-by-country disclaimer for details.