From Opus

Photo by Nigel Blake
Bedfordshire, UK

Turdus iliacus

[edit] Identification

21cm
Olive-brown upperparts and marked light supercilium. Underparts are paler but with a spotted breast (which are arranged in vertical lines) and chestnut flanks and underwing. Dark brown bill and yellowy-brown legs.

[edit] Similar Species

Song Thrush, which lacks the eyestripe and Fieldfare, which has a grey head. In poor light, or distant views could be confused with Dusky Thrush or Eye-browed Thrush.

[edit] Distribution

Photo by IanF
Cowpen Bewley Woodland Park, Billingham, Cleveland, UK December 2008

Breeds in Scandinavia. A winter visitor to Britain and continental Europe. A casual vagrant to northeastern North America.

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies^[1]

*T. i. coburni:

• Iceland and Faeroes; winters to north-western Europe

*T. i. iliacus:

• Northern Europe to central Asia; winters to North Africa and Near East

[edit] Habitat

Winters in open countryside, hedges, orchards and open, grassy fields.

[edit] Behaviour

As a vagrant to North America it usually associates with flocks of American Robins. In the UK, its companions are Fieldfare, Song and Mistle Thrushes - collectively known as "winter thrushes".

[edit] Flight

Fast and rather like a Common Starling. Migrates at night.

[edit] Diet

Its diet includes berries and worms.

[edit] Breeding

Nests in tree stumps, in trees or bushes, or on the ground. Often assocated with Fieldfare colonies.

[edit] Vocalisation

Call: a thin "see-ip" or "seeze".

[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. Birds of Britain
3. Collins Pocket Guide to British Birds 1966
4. Collins Field Guide 5th Edition

[edit] External Links