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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

Similar
species

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

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Mistle Thrush at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

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.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site?
If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.