The Song Thrush is smaller than either a Mistle Thrush or Blackbird and is less upright when standing. The sexes are similar with warm brown upper parts, pale buff underparts with dark speckles (which look like arrows pointing towards the head and are often arranged in lines) and a tinge of golden brown on the breast.
What does a wood thrush bird sound like?
The Wood Thrush's loud, flute-clear ee-oh-lay song rings through the deciduous forests of the eastern U.S. in summer. This reclusive bird's cinnamon brown upperparts are good camouflage as it scrabbles for leaf-litter invertebrates deep in the forest, though it pops upright frequently to peer about, revealing a boldly spotted white breast.
What do song thrush look like in the UK?
The song thrush was once a common sight in UK woodland, but is sadly in decline. What do song thrushes look like? The song thrush has a warm-brown head, wings and back, and a cream breast covered in dark brown spots the shape of upside down hearts.
What is a group of song thrushes called?
What is a group of Song Thrushes called? There are no specific collective nouns for the Song Thrush, instead, you can use general Thrush collective nouns such as: Mistle Thrush or Song Thrush: How to Tell the Difference?
What are the different types of thrush birds?
Our most familiar thrush must be that firm garden favourite, the blackbird, and it’s actually the only UK thrush that isn’t red listed . The two you’re most likely to mix up, however, are of the more speckled variety: the song thrush and the mistle thrush.
What does a song thrush look like?
The song thrush is a familiar bird, brown above, with a white belly covered in black, drop-shaped spots. It is smaller and a warmer brown than the mistle thrush, and lacks the white eyestripe and red flank patches of the redwing.
What's the difference between a thrush and a song thrush?
The main differences between the two birds are that song thrushes have a rounder appearance and have lighter breasts with markings that look like upside-down hearts or arrowheads. Mistles thrushes appear lighter and almost grey at first glance.
How do I know if my bird has thrush?
Male Varied Thrushes are dark blue-gray on the back and rich burnt-orange below with a sooty-black breastband and orange line over the eye. The wings are blackish with two orange bars and orange edging to the flight feathers. Females have the same patterns, but are paler gray-brown than males.
What is the difference between a song thrush and a female blackbird?
The song thrush (Turdus philomelos) is closely related to the blackbird, but is slightly smaller and lighter – about 23 centimetres long and 70 grams in weight. Both sexes have a yellow-brown back and wings, and lighter underside with regular rows of tapered brown spots.
How rare is a song thrush?
The song thrush used to be a very common bird in the UK. In fact, in the early 20th century it was more abundant than the blackbird. However, since the 1940s, blackbirds have flourished, making them a more familiar bird these days. Between 1970 and 2010, the UK song thrush population declined by 54 per cent.
Where do song thrushes live?
Song thrushes live in woodland, farmland, scrub, parks and gardens across the UK. They favour anywhere with a good supply of trees and bushes to nest in.
What is thrush caused from?
Thrush is caused by the overgrowth of a type of fungus called Candida. Mouth and throat thrush is called oropharyngeal candidiasis. A thrush infection is annoying but it's generally a minor problem for healthy people and will clear up in a few weeks with antifungal treatment.
What other bird looks like a thrush?
Fieldfare. Fieldfares are large, colourful thrushes, much like a mistle thrush in general size, shape and behaviour.
What does a female song thrush look like?
The song thrush is smaller than a blackbird and is distinguished from the female blackbird by its pale cream underparts speckled with fawn-brown chevrons. The head, back and upper wings and tail are smooth grey-brown with indistinct streaking on the head. In flight the upper wing is mostly uniform brown.
How do I know if my blackbird has thrush?
Look at the leg colour; in Blackbird the legs are dark or reddish-brown – in Mistle Thrush and Song Thrush they are pale. Redwing is a similar size to a Song Thrush but has a strong head pattern, with a pale cream stripe above the eye.
Do blackbirds and thrushes interbreed?
Interbreeding with a thrush, whilst possible, is most unlikely. What you're describing Derek, is just what I'm used to seeing in the crop of youngsters that visit my garden here. They start of looking very brown, like a female, but speckly. Then their primary feathers and tail go black, followed by the back.
What does the female blackbird look like?
Females, however, are actually dark brown, with lighter brown streaks on the breast. Juveniles look similar to the fully-grown female but have copper streaks. Males have a bright yellow bill and distinctive yellow eye ring. Females have a duller, yellow-brown beak.
What does a female song thrush look like?
The song thrush is smaller than a blackbird and is distinguished from the female blackbird by its pale cream underparts speckled with fawn-brown chevrons. The head, back and upper wings and tail are smooth grey-brown with indistinct streaking on the head. In flight the upper wing is mostly uniform brown.
What types of thrush are there?
Common blackbirdSong thrushFieldfareWood thrushTrue thrushHermit thrushThrush/Lower classifications
What is a song thrush called?
Definition of song thrush : an Old World thrush (Turdus philomelos of the family Turdidae) that is largely brown above with brown-spotted white underparts. — called also mavis, throstle.
What is the difference between a male and female song thrush?
Both male and female birds are identical, with the speckled breast making them fairly easily to identify – note that the speckles are smaller and more evenly distributed than on the similar Mistle Thrush, which is also a larger bird.
How big is a song thrush?
The song thrush has a warm-brown head, wings and back, and a cream breast covered in dark brown spots the shape of upside down hearts. It is around 23cm in length, slightly smaller than a blackbird.
How to tell if a song thrush is nearby?
Listen out for this bird’s striking song, which repeats short phrases two or three times in a row, and look out for smashed snail shells – a sure sign a song thrush has been nearby.
What bird is known for smashing open snails?
Famous for smashing open snails and for the sweet song which gives this bird its name. The song thrush was once a common sight in UK woodland, but is sadly in decline.
How many eggs do song thrush lay?
A clutch of around four to six glossy blue eggs is laid, hatching around two weeks later. The parents will feed the chicks for the next fortnight, after which they can leave the nest but will still rely on the parents to feed them until they reach maturity. The smooth mud lining is a giveaway in song thrush nests.
Why is the song thrush declining?
The species has declined significantly since 1970, particularly in farmland areas. This is most likely due to habitat loss.
What is the purpose of recording feathered friends?
Record the comings and goings of key feathered friends and help scientists track the effects of climate change on wildlife.
When do thrushes start singing?
Song thrushes begin singing in early spring, sometimes as early as January. Many literary figures have written about the bird’s song, including Browning, Wordsworth, and Hardy. Listen for short phrases repeated two or three times in quick succession, particularly in early mornings, and being belted from the very tops of trees.
What does the song thrush song sound like?
It is quite melodic, but not as full-sounding and throaty as the song of the blackbird.
Where do song thrushes nest?
The song thrush builds its nest in the dense vegetation of trees, hedges or shrubs. However, man-made structures like wall cavities or building ledges are also used as nesting sites. The nest itself is made of small branches, moss and other plant materials, lined with a mixture of wood fibres and saliva, which forms a solid shell after drying.
When is the song thrush breeding season?
The breeding season of the song thrush lasts from March to August. During this time, a breeding pair can successfully raise up to three broods. Each clutch remains in the nest for 12 to 14 days. Song thrush chicks are born naked and blind and are fed by their parents for two weeks before they make their first attempts to fly the nest.
Where does the song thrush spend winter?
Song thrushes are migratory birds that tend to spend winter in southern or south-western Europe. In mild winters, however, you can also see some song thrushes in Central Europe, foraging in the barren landscape. As with other bird species, wintering attempts in breeding areas may become more frequent as climate change increases.
Are birdhouses suitable for song thrushes?
Song thrushes build open nests, which they hide in trees and vegetation. As such, closed birdhouses are unsuitable for the song thrush. They tend to attract cavity nesting birds, such as coal tits, redstarts or nuthatches.
What do song thrushes look for?
In the spring and summer, song thrushes can often be seen on the ground looking for worms and beetles. They’re famous for their habit of bashing snails on an ‘anvil’ to crack the shells, so if you find fragments of snail shells gathered near a large stone in your garden, it probably means there’s a song thrush around.
What is the song of the Mistle Thrush?
The song of the mistle thrush is somewhere between a song thrush and a blackbird, with repeated phrases worked into more of an ongoing melody that stops and starts. It’s more melancholy and slurred than a blackbird, almost drunk-sounding, and louder, and they have a habit of singing in all-weathers, which is where their old name of ‘stormcock’ comes from. Their call is a very distinctive loud rattle, like a football rattle.
How do mistle thrushes get their name?
Mistle thrushes get their name from the mystical mistletoe, the berries of which are one of their favourite foods. They tend to be more common in areas with mistletoe, but they’ll also happily eat holly and rowan berries. They’re aggressive and are often very noticeable when they’re defending a good source of food, flying at other birds and giving their loud rattling call. At other times, they can be quite secretive and hard to see. Like song thrushes, they spend a lot of the spring and summer on the ground looking for invertebrates, and with their typical thrush hops, upright stance and other movements, this is when they’re probably hardest to tell apart, particularly from behind.
What are the two most common thrushes?
The two you’re most likely to mix up, however, are of the more speckled variety: the song thrush and the mistle thrush.
How many species of thrush are there in the UK?
There are dozens of species of thrush found all over the world, and six that can be seen in the UK. Our most familiar thrush must be that firm garden favourite, the blackbird, and it’s actually the only UK thrush that isn’t red listed . The two you’re most likely to mix up, however, are of the more speckled variety: the song thrush and ...
What is the rarest thrushe?
Ring ouzel. Just to complete the family, ring ouzels are the rarest thrushes found in the UK. You’d be super-lucky to see one as they’re only found in limited locations and in small numbers. They’re similar to blackbirds, but with a distinctive white mark on their throats.
When do mistle thrushes make their nests?
Nesting. Mistle thrushes start nesting even earlier than song thrushes, sometimes in February! They build a cup-shaped nest, often in the fork of a tree, and both parents will look after the chicks. They sometimes have a second brood later in the year, and will aggressively defend their nests from predators.
What is the middle phrase of a song?
Songs. The Wood Thrush's easily recognized, flute-like ee-oh-lay is actually only the middle phrase of a three-part song. It learns the phrase from other Wood Thrushes and sings several variants with 2 to 10 loud, clear notes.
Do wood thrushes snap their bill?
During aggressive displays, Wood Thrushes may snap the mandibles of the bill together.
What color is a potbelly thrush?
Pot-bellied thrush with a short tail and a upright posture. Reddish-brown above and white with bold blackish spots below.
What do wood thrushes do in the forest?
The reclusive Wood Thrush hops through leaf litter on the forest floor, probing for insects, bobbing upright between spurts of digging and leaf-turning. The male's clear, flute-like song echoes through the forest in spring and early summer, and both sexes make distinctive, machine-gun-like alarm notes.
Where do wood thrushes live?
Habitat. The Wood Thrush breeds in deciduous and mixed forests in the eastern U.S. where there are large trees, moderate understory, shade, and abundant leaf litter for foraging. They winter in lowland tropical forests in Central America. © Charles Shields | Macaulay Library. Regional Differences.
What is a song?
Song is a musical series of flutelike notes. Typically sings from high branches at dawn and dusk.
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What is the difference between a song thrush and a mistle thrush?
Song Thrush. Both sexes: Warm brown upperparts, creamy yellow throat and breast with speckles. The Song Thrush is smaller than either a Mistle Thrush or Blackbird and is less upright when standing. The sexes are similar with warm brown upper parts, pale buff underparts with dark speckles (which look like arrows pointing towards ...
Where do song thrush fly?
Unlike the Mistle Thrush, the Song Thrush usually flies low, below tree top height, from bush to bush.
Why is the Song Thrush on the Red List?
The Song Thrush population is less than half what it used to be and so it is on the Red List. Evidence suggests that this is not caused by increased predation by hawks or Magpies but through agricultural intensification and changes in woodland management.
What is the nest of a squid?
The nest is cup shaped and constructed from grass, twigs, and earth. The lining is very smooth and typically comprises mud or dung mixed with saliva. The smooth, glossy bright blue eggs are spotted with black, and approximately 27 mm by 21 mm. The female incubates the eggs by herself.
How many times does a song thrush repeat?
The Song Thrush's song may be repetitive - repeating the same phrase three or four times, as if it liked it the first time and so does it a few more times - but it is clear and flute-like, and is often chosen by people as being their favourite bird song. They usually sing from a prominent perch.
Where do song thrushes migrate?
Some birds, especially in northern populations, migrate southwards in the autumn, with southern populations going as far as France, Spain and Portugal. In the winter, the remaining British population is often joined by slightly darker immigrants from Scandinavia and BENELUX.
Where do squid sing?
They usually sing from a prominent perch.
