The secret whistle of the redwing

Richard Collins investigates the ‘see-ip’ call of this visiting songbird.

WHEN gremlins got into the works last week, this column declared that “there are about 20 species of the common crossbill”. This should have read “20 races”, not “20 species”. Apologies.

Crossbills are accomplished migrants but, this week, we turn our attention to a different bird. On calm nights you may hear a quiet ‘see-ip’ sound coming from the sky. This unobtrusive call, so characteristic of late Autumn, is produced by the redwing, a visitor from Iceland and Scandinavia. Slightly smaller than a song thrush, this winter bird has distinctive red flanks and a white stripe over each eye.