The little visitor is a redwing, Turdus iliacus, a member of the thrush family. It is a bit smaller and a darker brown than the American robin, also a member of the thrush family.
In many respects, the redwing looks a whole lot like an immature American robin, with brown being predominate on top and a speckled brown on the breast. But its most striking feature is its red flanks and underwings and the little creamy stripe seen above the eyes.
Ann Nightingale, the past president of the 750-member Victoria Natural History Society, told the Colonial Times, “It’s like a robin that didn’t get colored. It has a few subtle marks on it, but nothing that would make most people go ‘oooh, ahh.”
Nightingale says the little visitor has been keeping a low profile in the Interurban/ Wilkinson Road area, and with the redwing attracting a number of visitors from outside British Columbia, some folks living in the area aren’t really enthusiastic over the appearance of all the birders flocking into the neighborhood.
CTV News is reporting that according to the Victoria Natural History Society’s blogs that track rare bird sightings, the redwing was first seen on December 19, and has since been spotted several times, as recently as Sunday, Jan. 3.
Nightingale adds that this sighting is the second time the redwing has visited Victoria. It was first spotted two years ago in the area. It is expected to return to Asia in the spring. “It’s a pretty sulky bird,” Nightingale adds. “It hardly ever comes out in the open. You might get to see a piece of it in the bushes. For birders, that’s enough for a check.”
The long list of people in the greater Victoria area that keep track of birds like to call themselves “birders,” and not bird-watchers. This dedicated troupe uses binoculars, telescopes, backyard feeders and printed checklists to keep track of the avian visitors. The redwing is but one of three documented Asian visitors to visit northwest North America recently.
According to Nightingale, a fieldfare, another Asian thrush that’s not very spectacular in appearance was seen in Missoula, Montana, while a red-flanked bluetail, also known as the orange-flanked bush-robin, has been documented in Portland, Oregon.
