| Song Thrush Turdus philomelos | ||||
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The Song Thrush is smaller than the Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus, has a shorter tail, "arrowhead" spots rather than round spots on its breast and has yellow-buff colouring on its upper breast. | |||
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It eats snails, insects and worms often smashing shells on a stone to get at the meat inside. It has suffered a fairly severe decline in recent years in Britain and this may partly be due to gardeners putting down slug pellets to kill off the snails and protect their hostas and other leafy plants. Apart from gardens, it also breeds in woodland and parkland. | |||
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It is partly migratory and there is a noticeable movement
within Britain with birds moving southwestwards from the Scottish Highlands in Autumn. Many Scottish thrushes spend winter in Ireland while a few go
as far south as Portugal.
Photos 3 to 7 were taken on Cape Clear Island, Co. Cork, Ireland and show the sub-species T. p. hebridensis which is darker brown above with a greyish rump and larger spots on the underparts. |
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There is a BTO video showing the differences between Song Thrush and Mistle Thrush T. viscivorus. The song is usually song at dawn or dusk. |
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