red underwing

The English name derives from the bird's red underwing.

The Red Underwing (Catocala nupta) is a moth of Noctuidae family.

Many noctuid moths, such as the large red underwing, Catocala nupta are cryptic at rest, but display a flash of startlingly bright colours when disturbed.

It features a self portrait by Jens Juel and a Red Underwing drawn by Ib Andersen.

The most similar European thrush species is the Redwing (T. iliacus), but that bird has a strong white supercilium, red flanks, and shows a red underwing in flight.

As the Red Underwing moth takes off, the sudden flash of colour may confuse the attacker, and when it lands and immediately closes its wings it may seem to disappear as the colour is "switched off".

It is also thought that the symmetrical patterned orange sections on the rear wings form the illusion of another smaller creature (butterfly), so the attacker will go for the colourful "small illusive" rear safe region on the main body of this Red Underwing moth species.