21 Facts about Song Thrushes

Hi there

Another selection of facts about song Thrushes

Source: http://www.jacobijayne.co.uk/21-facts/

 1. A century ago song thrushes were regarded as one
of Britain’s commonest birds, even outnumbering
blackbirds.

2. The average distance British song thrushes move
between ringing and recovery is 1 kilometre.

3. Large numbers of Continental birds, mainly from
Belgium and Holland, winter in southern England.

4. Hunting migratory song thrushes has long been a
popular sport in southern Europe. It remains legal in
France and Spain.

5. Song thrushes are one of the few British birds to eat
snails; they are a critically important food in late
summer when more favoured prey items are not
available.

6. Though many British song thrushes start laying in
March and early April, the national average date for
the first egg is April 21.

7. A song thrush egg weighs 6 grams, of which 6% is shell.

8. Song thrush eggs are always sky-blue with black spots.

9. When the clutch is completed, incubation takes 14
days with a further 14 days before fledging.

10. Most song thrush pairs will have two or three broods
a season, and four broods are recorded occasionally.

11. Though the sexes are similar in appearance, the
female is slightly heavier than the male and tends to
be more heavily spotted.

12. The British population is estimated at 1.1 million pairs.

13. There may be as many as 26 million pairs of song
thrushes in Europe.

14. Song thrushes were first introduced to Australia in
1856 and soon became well established in and
around Melbourne where they still thrive today.

15. Song thrushes were first introduced to New Zealand
in 1862. Today they are one of the commonest New
Zealand birds, occurring on both North and South
Islands.

16. Song thrushes live up to their name by singing for
much of the year. In southern England it is not
unusual to hear the first song in early November but
singing really begins in earnest in the New Year.

17. It was the poet Robert Browning who wrote:
That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
Lest you should think he never could recapture
The first fine careless rapture!

18. Though song thrushes can be heard singing at any
time of day, they aren’t early risers; generally they
don’t join the dawn chorus until blackbirds and
robins have already started.

19. Not everyone likes song thrushes. Their appetite for
soft fruit has long made them unpopular with farmers
growing strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries and
blackcurrants.

20. Song thrushes breed throughout Britain, including
most offshore islands, but are extremely rare as nesting
birds on Shetland.

21. While song thrushes that nest in southern England
are mainly resident, those in the north are more
migratory.

Regards

Kathy and Dave