Species › Birds

Redwing

Turdus iliacus

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
Presence in the Strait: Seasonal
Abundance: scarce
IUCN (global): LC · Least concern
In Spanish: Zorzal alirrojo

49% of its open observations in the area are from November.

Photograph: Andreas Trepte, CC BY-SA 2.5, vía Wikimedia Commons

Length: 21 cm
Weight: 60 g

Presence in the Strait

Scarce winter visitor to scrub and wild olive woods.

Identification

The smallest and darkest of the thrushes. Bold white supercilium and rusty-red flanks. Breast and flanks streaked brown. In flight, prominent rusty-red underwings.

Movements

Postnuptial migration peaks in 1st hf. November; prenuptial migration inconspicuous, last birds leaving by the end of March.

Ring recoveries

Finland (7), Belgium (3), Germany (2), United Kingdom (2), Sweden (2), France (1), Holland (1) and Norway (1).

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

49 %

Peak in November. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 1 February 1963
Latest record: 28 December 2024

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Not included
Spanish Catalogue: Not included
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: DD · Data deficient · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Where they come from

19 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

Finland7
Belgium3
Germany2
United Kingdom2
Sweden2
France1

See the journey on the map

Same genus in the Strait

Song Thrush23–23 cm · Seasonal
Ring Ouzel24–24 cm · Migrant
Common Blackbird24–25 cm · Resident
Mistle Thrush27–27 cm · Resident
Fieldfare25.5–25.5 cm · Occasional

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
GBIF taxon key: 2490781

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Andreas Trepte, CC BY-SA 2.5, vía Wikimedia Commons
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Redwing

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery