Redwing or Song Thrush?

These two get mixed up constantly. Here is what actually separates them, taken from each bird's own page.

Redwing

Turdus iliacus

The face decides it. A song thrush has a plain face with no eye-stripe and warm buff flanks; a redwing has a bold creamy-white stripe over the eye and a second below the cheek, and rust-red flanks. Both are the same size and shape, so ignore size entirely and look at the head.

Song Thrush

Turdus philomelos

A winter visitor of similar size and shape, but a redwing has a bold creamy stripe over the eye and rusty-red flanks and underwing. A song thrush has a plain face and buff, not red, along the flanks.

Side by side

	Redwing	Song Thrush
Size	Song thrush sized — clearly smaller and neater than a blackbird, and much smaller than a fieldfare.	Smaller than a blackbird, about 23cm, neat and compact with a short tail.
Where you'll see it	On lawns and under fruit trees in hard weather, and stripping berries from hedges. Rarely on feeders.	On lawns and borders, and singing from the top of a tree, TV aerial or roof ridge.
What it eats	Berries, windfall apples and other soft fruit, plus earthworms and invertebrates from open ground.	Earthworms, snails and other invertebrates; berries and windfall fruit in autumn and winter.
When	October to April only. BTO gives an average arrival of 1 October and departure in mid-April.	Resident all year, with song starting as early as late December and peaking in spring.
Status	Amber listed	Amber listed

Still not sure? Describe what you saw and we will rank every garden bird against it — including these two.

Both descriptions are taken from the species pages, which cite the BTO and RSPB. Reviewed 2026-09-20.