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Mistle Thrush

Mistle Thrush

Turdus viscivorus

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The Mistle Thrush is Europe's largest thrush, a big, pale grey-brown bird with bold round spots and an upright stance. It lives in open woodland, parks and farmland across Europe, western Asia and North Africa. Its loud, fluty song rings out even in wind and rain, earning it the name “stormcock”. Northern birds migrate, while others stay and defend berry-laden trees in winter.

Did you know?

  • Its old nickname “stormcock” comes from its habit of singing in storms.
  • Its scientific name means “mistletoe eater”, and it helps spread mistletoe seeds.

Voice

Song
Call
Flight call

About the species

Identification

Europe's largest thrush: grey-brown above and pale below with clearly defined, round black spots. In flight the white underwing coverts and white tail corners show. It is larger and paler than Song Thrush, and the white underwing helps separate them.

Family

Turdidae

Size

Medium (thrush)

Colours

brown, white, black, grey

About the habitat

Open woodland, forest edges, clearings, parks, large gardens and orchards, where trees alternate with grass or heath.

Diet

Earthworms, insects and other invertebrates in spring and summer; berries such as mistletoe, holly, rowan and yew in autumn and winter.

Behaviour

Feeds mostly on the ground with run-and-pause movements, standing very upright when alert. The male sings loud, fluty phrases from treetops, often in bad weather. In winter it fiercely defends fruiting trees and mistletoe clumps. It builds an open cup nest against a trunk or in a fork and boldly drives off predators, even large ones. Outside the breeding season it may form small groups.

Sources

Photo: Fernando Losada Rodríguez, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turdus viscivorus.001 - Cardiff.jpg

Sound: Benoît Van Hecke, XC627799, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/627799

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC959128, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/959128

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC707308, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/707308

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistle_thrush

See also