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26

Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) Alternate name(s): "Stormcock", "Holm Thrush", "Holm Cock", "Hollin Cock" German name(s): "Misteldrossel" Size: 27-28 cm; wing span: 45 cm Weight: 95-165 g

Europe: Family Group 26 Family Group 26 Table Crested Lark Thekla's Lark Zitting Cisticola Great Reed Warbler Eurasian Reed Warbler Sedge Warbler Marsh Warbler Savi's Warbler Icterine Warbler Melodious Warbler Cetti's Warbler Redwing Fieldfare Mistle Thrush Song Thrush Ring Ouzel Common Blackbird Common Starling Spotless Starling Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Mistle Thrushes (especially the eastern race "bonapartei") are the largest thrushes native to Europe. They have a mostly grey head and nape of the neck, with light-grey malar stripes and a grey throat/chin lined on either side by a brown stripe. The chest and sides are heavily spotted dark-brown. The base colour of the upper chest is light-brown, while the lower chest, belly, vent and undertail are off-white. The upperparts are olive-grey; the tail is dark-grey. The irises are black. The bill is dark-grey, with a yellowish base of the lower mandible. The legs and feet are grey. Juveniles have plainer colours than adults. Twitcher's tip Compared to Fieldfares, Mistle Thrushes do not have an ochre or rufous chest patch and thereby look much plainer.

Taxonomy, classification See Mistle Thrush at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Mistle Thrush is available HERE . Mistle Thrushes are a migratory Eurasian species with three recognized races. They are present all year round in central and southern Europe and eastward from there. They also stay all year round in some northern parts of Asia Minor, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea and to the South-east of the Caspian Sea. In summertime they migrate and thereby extend their range to include much of Scandinavia, all of eastern Europe (except the far-northern Arctic parts of Russia) and eastward into central Asia. They are winter visitors to parts of south-eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Mediterranean East coast and north-western Africa. In central Europe nominate race "viscivorus" is found. They are permanent residents basically anywhere to the West and South of a line connecting Frisia, on the Dutch/German border, with the Danube delta. During the breeding season they extend their range to include almost all of Scandinavia (except the western and northern parts of Norway), Finland, the Baltic states and much of north-western Russia.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "viscivorus" D. Wilczynska reports spotting Mistle Thrushes, race "viscivorus", in Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, in May 2015, and in Biebrza NP, Poland, in May 2017. J. Pires reports finding Mistle Thrushes, race "viscivorus", in Montargil, Alentejo, Portugal, in July 2015 and in Mora, Evora, Portugal, in May 2019. Another was found in November 2020. M. Eaton found Mistle Thrushes, race "viscivorus", in Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, in September 2019. M. Eaton also spotted Mistle Thrushes, race "viscivorus", in Hyde Park, London, England, in September 2019.

Photos

Race "viscivorus"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of an adult Mistle Thrush (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, January 2016]

Frontal view of an adult Mistle Thrush with its head turned more sideways (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, January 2016]

Near-frontal view of a Mistle Thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Lateral view of a Mistle Thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Hyde Park, London, England, September 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Mistle Thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Hyde Park, London, England, September 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Mistle Thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Dorsal view of a Mistle Thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Direct comparison of a Mistle Thrush, left, with a female Common Blackbird (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]

Food, Diet

As their scientific name already suggests ("viscivorus" = "Mistletoe-Eater"), Mistle Thrushes have a liking for the fruit of mistletoe (and other fruit and berries). Their mainstay throughout the year are invertebrates, such as earthworms.

Lateral view of a Mistle Thrush inspecting muberries (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]

Mistle Thrushes are not picky - the totally unripe fruit is taken (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

msthrsh_jp_20190606.m4a

viscivorus (Portugal)

Warning/departure

© JP

More Mistle Thrush sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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