Song Thrushes

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Scientific name:  Turdus philomelos

Size:  Approx 23cm long.  Wingspan around 35cm.

Distribution:  Found throughout the UK but more of a summer resident in parts of northern Scotland

Months seen:  All year round

Life Span: Average 3 years, but can live more than 10 years

Habitat:  Woodlands, parks, farmland and gardens

Food:  Worms, beetles, snails and other invertebrates, berries and fallen fruit

Special features:  Song Thrushes have brown plumage on their upper parts and cream or buff coloured underparts.  The breast is dotted with dark brown, narrow triangular shaped spots.  The spots are often arranged in lines.  These spots distinguish the Song Thrush from the Mistle Thrush which is usually more heavily marked with much broader spots.  Juvenile Song Thrushes have some pale brown streaks on their upperparts.  Song Thrushes have relatively long legs and an upright stance.

The Song Thrush feeds mainly on the ground.  If you find a stone in your garden which is littered with broken snail shells this could indicate you have a resident Song Thrush.  Thrushes bash the snails onto the stone in order to extract them from their shells

As the name suggests these birds have a distinctive song with several different notes and sounds which are repeated two to four times in succession.

Related Pages

• UK Safari Bird Section
• What's Out Now?