Redwing

“ Now, although so far north as this, we never found more than three to four Fieldfares' nests together, and often they were nesting singly; we found that it was generally worth while to search the neighbouring trees, &c., and by so doing we several times found a Redwing's, Brambling's, or Redpoll's nest, which we otherwise might have missed. Most often, I think, we found a Fieldfare and a Redwing breeding in company. All the nests we found were in birches, and never more than ten feet up; in fact, nearly all could be reached without climbing at all. ”

“ As the area of cultivation increases and the breeding grounds are curtailed, the species is likely to become reduced in numbers and consequently less harmful. Nearly seven-eighths of the redwing's food is made up of weed seed or of insects injurious to agriculture, indicating unmistakably that the bird should be protected, except, perhaps, in a few places where it is too abundant. ”

“ As soon as spring makes its appearance, almost all the Redwings leave the Southern States, in small detached and straggling flocks, the males leading the way in full song, as if to invite the females to follow. ”

“ As I have often remarked that redwings are some of the first birds that suffer with us in severe weather, it is no wonder at all they retreat from Scandinavian winters: and much more the ordo of grallae, who, all to a bird, forsake the northern parts of Europe at the approach of winter. ”

“ Their going out is a long and protracted business, often not completed, although it begins early, before the middle or end of May. Redwings—most plentiful during this winter—are in a degree less gregarious, but they have much the same habits as their congeners, and leave at the same period as do the emigrating Thrushes (T. musicus) , and they make a much more rapid and complete work of it than the Fieldfares, for we shall not find a Redwing after March, or middle of April at the latest, in the park-lands, paddocks, or meadows bordering the streams, where they have been hopping all the winter. ”

“ They frequent the meadows by day, and towards the close of the afternoon, just as dusk is coming on, may be seen in little straggling parties repairing to the shelter of shrubberies and plantations, where they spend the night. The Redwing is easily distinguishable from the Song-Thrush by a broadish white stripe over the eye, in addition to which it is a bird of gregarious habits, which the other is not. As an article of food its flesh is considered very delicate —"better than the Fieldfare," I have heard a good judge of things edible declare ”

“ Very tiny sandpiper Stout bill Blackish legs BIRDS OF THE SWAMPY AREAS
Redwinged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) Male is black, with red shoulder patches Female is a brown, uninteresting bird
The male Redwing is familiar to everyone. His beautiful black plumage with red shoulder bars allows a rapid identification. He is usually seen flitting about over a marsh attempting to attract the attention of some admiring female. The nest is built in a shrub on the marsh in late May or June. ”

“ The redwing breeds in Iceland, in the subalpine and arctic districts of Norway, Sweden and Finland, and thence across Northern Russia and Siberia, becoming scarce to the eastward of the Yenisei, and not extending beyond Lake Baikal. In winter it visits the whole of Europe and North Africa, occasionally reaching Madeira, while to the eastward it is found at that season in Persia, and, it is said, at times in the north-western Himalayas and Kohat. Many writers have praised the song of this bird, comparing with that of the nightingale (q.v.) ”

“ Its flight is similar to that of the Redwing, with which it frequently associates in its rambles. During spring and summer it feeds on insects, larvæ and worms, frequenting the cornfields, meadows and open places.
The males and females arrive together; but contrary to the general practice among the feathered tribes, these birds do not pair. The males seem to regard the females with little interest. ”

“ It owes perhaps some of this unfortunate distinction to the fact of its arriving in France in time to fatten on grapes, for in this country it is often too lean to be worth cooking. Being impatient of cold, it is less abundant in the north of England than the south; but even in the mild climates of Devon and Cornwall, where it congregates in large numbers, it is so much enfeebled by unusually severe weather, as to be liable to be hunted down by boys with sticks, and a Redwing starved to death used to be no unfrequent sight in the course of a winter's ramble. ”

“ At this season of the year Redwings are essentially wanderers, moving about in flocks of from a dozen to thirty or more, stopping here and there where food is plentiful for a few days or weeks, and then moving on, always southward, as lack of food or the severity of the weather dictates. If the winter be mild, they may be found roosting in large numbers in thick hawthorn hedges or small plantations; for although fond of cover, and spending most of their time among undergrowth on the ground, they are not very partial to large woods, preferring thick hedgerows or small coppices. ”

“ For a close inspection and prolonged study of the Redwing there is hardly a period more suitable than that of frost and snow, especially when a heavy fall of the latter has covered the ground to the depth of several inches, and the grass of the green fields has been hidden from our view for many days. Then it is that the poor birds, with their normal food supply cut short, and pinched with cold and hunger, draw to the roadside hedges for the purpose of feeding on the winter berries which, in mild open weather, they apparently set less store by, except on first arrival. ”

“ He adds that with the Redwings the whole winter season seems one continued carnival. They find abundant food in the old fields of rice, buckwheat, and grain, and much of their time is spent in aerial movements, or in grand vocal performances. ”

“ During migrations and in autumnal flocking they associate more or less with Redwings; but, altho they are devoted to the vicinity of water, they care nothing for the fastnesses of reed and rush, which are the delight of Redwing and Yellowhead. Their preference is for more open situations, so that they are most abundant upon the East-side. Here a typical breeding haunt is a strip of willows fringing a swamp; or, better still, a line of dark green thorn-bushes clinging to the bank of the rolling Columbia. ”

“ The Redwings place their nests where it would seem very easy to reach them; but really the bushes are either surrounded by a little creek, hidden deep in the reeds, or the ground is so marshy that neither man nor beast can come near. That is the one reason why the males fly about so boldly, showing their glossy uniforms with the red and gold epaulets. ”

“ There is some old saying to the effect that adversity makes strange bedfellows, and the truth of it occurred very forcibly to me when one morning a winter or so ago I found some Redwings collected in a thorn-bush by the roadside, sitting quite still, and apparently resigned to any fate that might overtake them. ”

“ It even seems to shun the company of its own kind and, unlike the red-winged blackbird, is seldom seen in large flocks. It is only in the spring that we may observe even small flocks from “whence issues a confused medley of whistles, sweeter and higher-pitched than the best efforts of the redwings.” ”

“ When the Reed-birds, the Redwings, and Soras, shall have become so scarce as to be searched for with the same interest as our little Partridges already are; when the margins of our rivers shall have been drained and ploughed to the very tide-mark ”

“ Nest: The nest of this bird is woven of grasses, weed-stalks and rootlets. Sometimes it is built in a friendly, compact mass of cat-tail, and other nests may be seen in low bushes or tussocks. These Redwings do not welcome visitors to their nesting sites. They raise very strenuous objections, and, in their attempt to drive away the intruder, bird, beast or man, they will fly very near, scolding in harsh tones the meanwhile.
Eggs: The eggs of the Red-winged Blackbirds are truly unusual in their markings. ”

“ Some years pass without the appearance of a single individual there. At other times immense flocks are observed mixing with the Redwings, Crow Blackbirds and Robins, searching about the farm-yards, the fields, and the meadows with great diligence for food. At such times they are easily approached, and are shot in great numbers, being considered more delicate and better flavoured than the species with which they associate, excepting the Robin. Like the Redwings, they seek the swamps and the margins of lakes and rivers, where they roost among the tall sedges, flags, and other aquatic plants. ”

“ Most of the nests contained young by June 26th, but the nest on the high fjeld had five fresh eggs on June 28th; this nest was absolutely on the ground, at the foot of a dwarf willow, and the bird was nearly trodden on by one of us before she flew off with loud chatterings. A few addled eggs were got from other nests. We found the Redwings every bit as noisy and bold when they had young as the Fieldfares, and though from their situation the nests were not quite so easy to find, by hunting where the birds made most noise they did not give much trouble. ”

“ And I the more admire at this instance as extraordinary, since, to all appearance, the same food in summer as well as in winter might support them here which maintains their congeners, the blackbirds and thrushes, did they choose to stay the summer through. From hence it appears that it is not food alone which determines some species of birds with regard to their stay or departure. Fieldfares and redwings disappear sooner or later according as the warm weather comes on earlier or later. ”

“ This great pine had an especial interest for Redruff, now living near with his remaining young one, but its base, not its far-away crown, concerned him. All around were low, creeping hemlocks, and among them the partridge-vine and the wintergreen grew, and the sweet black acorns could be scratched from under the snow. There was no better feeding-ground, for when that insatiable gunner came on them there it was easy to run low among the hemlocks to the great pine, then rise with a derisive whirr behind its bulk, and keeping the huge trunk in line with the deadly gun, skim off in safety. ”

“ I ought not to name redstart as a regular occupant of the orchard. He belongs to the woods, and must be reckoned a visitor to the apple-trees, only an occasional builder, at best. The orchard is too open for him. He is an actor, and needs a leafy setting for his stage. In the woods, against a dense background of green, he can play butterfly with charming effect, can spread himself and flit about like an autumn leaf or some wandering bit of paradise life, with wings of the grove's richest orange light and its deepest shadow. ”

“ The redstart is the most active of the active warblers, and the number of gnats, flies, caterpillars, moths, other insects and their eggs that these birds consume or feed to their nestlings in one day is incredible. While it does splendid work in the woods it frequently comes to the orchard and is not unknown to paly its quest for food in the village streets. While we admire the redstart for its beauty and its charming little songs, we respect the bird for his utility. ”

“ If you pass by the same place months later, when spring and summer are past, what a change! Where the sweet flowers had been, the red berries, which the birds like so well, hang in clusters. This is what has happened: the wind has blown away the soft blossoms; then the parts beneath them which held the seeds grew larger and turned into berries; the sun shone upon them and dyed them their brilliant red; and now they are quite ripe, and ready for the birds' winter supply; or perhaps one here and there may bury itself in the ground, and become a young hawthorn. ”

“ If the cuckoo tells her name to all the hills, so does the sedge-warbler to the fluted reeds. And, like that wandering voice, our little bird seems dispossessed of a corporeal existence, and on through summer is "still longed for, never seen"—and this though common enough, for you may wander long among the willows, with a bird in every bush, without one showing outside its corral of boughs. Wherever vegetation grows tall and luxuriant, there the "reed-wren" may be found. ”

“ The cold draws all the birds of a species together. Dark hordes of clacking grackles pass 250 by, scores of red-winged blackbirds and cowbirds mingle amicably together, both of dark hue but of such unlike matrimonial habits. A single male red-wing, as we have seen, may assume the cares of a harem of three, four, or five females, each of which rears her brown-streaked offspring in her own particular nest, while the valiant guardian keeps faithful watch over his small colony among the reeds and cat-tails. ”

“ The red-wing's favorite resort is the vicinity of water where the rushes grow densely, among which he places his nest; but the little swales in the meadows, where tufts of rank grass flourish upon islands formed by the roots of previous years' growth, and a few stunted alders and cranberry-bushes shade the black water, are nearly always sure to be the home of a few pairs. ”

“ But here in our lane there is but little to climb up, and its livid pink stems, often twisted with one or more brother-strands, lie along the hedge or sway in the air like discontented snakes. Just now they hardly show any leaves, but later in the spring they will have finely polished ones, and later still bunches of red berries, which do not seem to be popular with birds, and hang on their branches till winter comes. ”

“ The red-wing is fond of green corn, and is often shot by farmers, but he is also a famous insect eater, and earns all the corn he gets. He eats numbers of cut-worms, and other insects, [97] and in some of the prairie States he does great good by eating locusts and their eggs. Besides these, he likes variety, and is fond of the seeds of weeds. Ragweed and smartweed seeds are dainties to him as some nuts are to you, and he eats a great many. So unless a large flock comes to one place to disturb the crops, you may be sure they do more good than harm. ”