Could someone PLEASE help me with IDing this bird. Is it a Song or a Mistle Thrush and any easy ways of remembering which is which?
Hi Teuchter, Brilliant photo. I THINK (but I wouldn't swear to it) it's a Song Thrush. The Mistle Thrush has pale outer coverts which yours doesn't seem to have and the spots on the breast of the bird in your photo are V shaped.
The necessity of bird-watching is a really good reason for avoiding all forms of housework.
The dust will still be there tomorrow - the birds may not be!
Song Thrush for definate. {thumbs up}
Song Thrushes are far more round, and rotund looking than the Mistle Thrush. Mistle Thrushes are lanky and lean looking in appearance. The Mistle Thrush is more of a grey/brown color
You are far more likely to see a Song Thrush, than a Mistle Thrush in your garden
The calls differ a lot. The Song Thrush sings a lovely 'fluty' melody. The Mistle Thrush's call is a bit more mudane to listen too and it repeats the same 6 phrases or so over and over again on top of a tree (usually)
Mistle Thrushes love to sit on the very top of a tall tree and have the nickname of 'Stormcock' for that reason.
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Ooh! Where was that Teuchter? It looks as though it's standing on polystyrene! I would say song thrush as well anyway!
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
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Who wrote at 3.25? There's no name or avatar????
Hi Teuchter.
Your picture is indeed a Song Thrush.
I hope the following will give you some help to identify the difference between Song / Mistle Thrush & Redwing
Above picture is a Song Thrush
Its brown plumage and speckled chest is typical of a Song Thrush.
It lacks the white eye stripes of a Redwing and so is most easily mistaken for a Mistle Thrush.
The Song Thrush, however, is smaller, more neatly proportioned, with warm brown upperparts and a rather dark face. It lacks the white tips to the corners of the tail and the white edges to many of the wing feathers shown by a Mistle Thrush.
The underwing coverts are clearly orange, but not as deep and red as in a Redwing, which is a potential source of confusion.
Above picture is a Mistle Thrush
The Mistle Thrush is a big, bold, aggressive bird, larger than a Blackbird and more fat-bellied, longer-tailed and smaller-headed than other thrushes.
Its upperparts are paler, more grey-brown than on a Song Thrush and there are white edges to many of the wing feathers and the corners of the tail.
The face is generally paler making the dark eye more prominent and giving a 'wide-eyed' expression.
Above picture is a Redwing.
The Redwing most closely resembles the Song Thrush but is best identified by the obvious buff stripes over its eye and through the moustache.
These features are often more obvious than the red flanks and red underwing which give the species its name.
Regards Buzzard
Nature Is Amazing - Let Us Keep It That Way
Song Thrush breast markings are almost arrowhead shaped whereas Mistle's are heavier and "splodgy". In flight Mistle Thrushes look deceptively huge and have a really weird flight call that sounds a bit like an old fashioned wooden football rattle.
If you get a peep at the Song Thrush's underwing you'll see that it's yellowish. A Mistle Thrush's "armpit" is a very ordinary pale grey.
Every day a little more irate about bird of prey persecution, and I have a cat - Got a problem with that?
Sorry - didn't mean to post as "answer" - How presumptuous....
Oh, and I almost forgot. The Song Thrush does a lot of repetition in its song. You hear the same phrases repeated two or three times. Sounds like an overenthusiastic pub bore as in "Hello..... Hello...... How are you? How are you. Eh? Eh? (and so forth)
Thanks Blackbird for your answer. Very much appreciated.
Thanks for your ID MarJus.
You ARE observant ... it is indeed polystyrene. I rescued this chap when he flew into the window yesterday and stunned himself. I took him into the garage and placed him on the packaging from a new dishwasher and then went and got the camera. He allowed me to take a few pics then hopped onto my left hand and I tried to get a few pics then but found it difficult to get him into focus at the same time. Thanks for the ID too.