Not to be confused with: the mistle thrush. During the winter, Song Thrush is (on average) reported from one in five gardens, compared with one in twenty for Mistle Thrush.
It is around 23cm in length, slightly smaller than a blackbird. Mistle thrushes are early singers and you'll often hear one singing from the top of a tall tree in windy winter weather.
What do song thrushes look like? Because of this habit, an old name for the thrush is 'storm cock'. It is very easy to confuse a song thrush and a mistle thrush. Show less 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. Song Thrush is the more numerous of the two, in terms of our breeding The key, however, is in the spots. Garden thrushes BTO Garden BirdWatch results show that Song Thrush is the more commonly reported of the two thrush species in British gardens. Song thrush spots on their underparts look more like inverted ‘arrowheads’ which are sparsely spread on the breast and flanks. Song thrushes are smaller and generally have warmer brown tones on their upperparts, whereas the mistle thrush is paler. 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 is around 23cm in length, slightly smaller than a blackbird. Mistle thrushes are early singers and you'll often hear one singing from the top of a tall tree in windy winter weather.
What do song thrushes look like? Because of this habit, an old name for the thrush is 'storm cock'. It is very easy to confuse a song thrush and a mistle thrush. Show less 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. Song Thrush is the more numerous of the two, in terms of our breeding The key, however, is in the spots. Garden thrushes BTO Garden BirdWatch results show that Song Thrush is the more commonly reported of the two thrush species in British gardens. Song thrush spots on their underparts look more like inverted ‘arrowheads’ which are sparsely spread on the breast and flanks. Song thrushes are smaller and generally have warmer brown tones on their upperparts, whereas the mistle thrush is paler. 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.