h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

At the weekend I heard some birds in a tree, but couldn't see them from the ground very well. I took photos as best I could, assuming they would just be something like blackbirds, and then zoomed in on the images on the computer later that day.

To my surprise, I found that I had captured a picture of a Redwing. This is a bird in the Thrush family that, as you might expect, has red colouring on the underside of its wings. Like the Song Thrush it has a speckled breast but unlike its cousin it has pale stripes above and below its eyes.

They are most often seen in the UK during the winter months, as populations migrate from Iceland and Scandinavia. They are more common in the South of England but may be seen as far north as Scotland (there are even a few breeding pairs in Scotland).

A pair may have up to two broods in a season - the female lays as many as five eggs in each batch. Only the female incubates the eggs, and they hatch after about two weeks. The chicks can fly at the age of about two weeks. Both parents feed the chicks until they are about a month old.

In summer, Redwings eat slugs and snails as well as worms and insects. In winter, they eat fruit such as apples and berries.