Join for FREE
It only takes a minute!

Welcome to BirdForum.
BirdForum is the net's largest birding community, dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE! You are most welcome to register for an account, which allows you to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.

Personal tools
Main Categories

Mistle Thrush

From Opus

Photo by Steve Garvie
Photo by Steve Garvie
Turdus viscivorus

Contents

[edit] Identification

Grey brown back, dark eye in plain face. Spots have an irregular pattern.

Most of range covered by nominate viscivorus; North-West Africa, Corsica and Sardinia by very similar but slightly paler and greyer deichleri. In general birds become paler and less spotted towards the east of the Region.

[edit] Similar Species

Song Thrush has browner upperparts and 'arrow-shaped' spots.

[edit] Distribution

Photo by SaphireStaffordshire/Cheshire, UK, December 2005
Photo by Saphire
Staffordshire/Cheshire, UK, December 2005

A common and widespread breeder in the region.

Breeds in the British Isles, France and Iberia east across Europe to the Urals. Breeds in south-east Norway and in much of lowland Sweden and Finland and in Russia north to the White Sea. In the south breeds patchily in north Mediterranean countries and on Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. Also breeds parts of Turkey and the Caucasus, in the Atlas Mountains of North-West Africa and possibly regularly on Madeira.

Migratory in northern Scandinavia and from Poland eastwards, remainder of range varies from sedentary to partial migrant. Most migrants winter within range of more southerly breeders but becomes more widespread around the Mediterranean from September-April.

Vagrants recorded in Iceland and Faroes, on the Azores and in Egypt, Israel and Kuwait.

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies[1]

  • T. v. viscivorus:
  • T. v. deichleri:
  • T. v. bonapartei:

[edit] Habitat

Open woods, parks & gardens. Light woodland and open country, often in parks and large gardens. After breeding commonly moves to areas with abundant supplies of berries, ivy, yew, holly and mistletoe are favoured. Also feeds in open grassland, playing fields and farmland.

[edit] Behaviour

Looks tall when standing.

[edit] Breeding

The nest is a big, loose, cup of roots, leaves and moss. It is usually placed high in a tree. The clutch consists of 4 greenish-blue eggs with red marks which are incubated for 15-16 days. The young fledge about 2 weeks later. There may be two broods in the season which runs from late March to July.

[edit] Diet

Diet includes worms, fruit, seeds, invertebrates.

[edit] Vocalisation

Song: loud, disjointed, not very varied.
Voice: like a football rattle.


Listen in an external program

[edit] References

  1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
  2. Bird Watching

[edit] External Links


Advertisement

Fatbirder's Top 1000 Birding Websites

Search the net with ask.com
Help support BirdForum
Ask.com and get

Page generated in 0.28170395 seconds with 6 queries
All times are GMT. The time now is 06:09.