Redwing - Massachusetts

A bird fitting the description of an ABA Code-4 Redwing (Turdus iliacus) was found on 29 December 2010 at the Sebring Stables in Richmond, MA, by Kate Edwards.  Kate saw the bird from about 20 feet and identified it after studying field guides and a YouTube video.  The bird has not been relocated.

Redwing is a migratory species that is a frequent vagrant to Greenland where a small population now breeds (ABA Checklist, Seventh Edition, Pranty et al.). In winter, Redwings feed primarily on fruits and seeds.  The subspecies, accidental south of Newfoundland on the East Coast, is T. i. coburni with thick blackish streaking on the underparts as compared with the nominate species, accidental on the West Coast, with thin, brownish streaks ventrally (The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America, D. and L. Stokes).