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26

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) German name(s): "Singdrossel" Size: 20-23 cm Weight: 60-90 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 Song Thrushes are small thrushes. They have an highly cryptic plumage. The sides of the head show buff and brown colours, in a pattern following the shape of the ear-coverts. The eyes are surrounded by off-white eye-rings. Chest and flanks have a rusty-buff base colour, while the belly, vent and undertail are white. Much of the front, except the central belly, vent and undertail, is covered with prominent dark-brown "arrow-head" spots. The upperparts, from the forehead, across the crown, and down the back to the tail, are homogeneously grey-brown. The upperwings, except for narrow dark wing bars, are also grey-brown. The irises are dark-brown. The bill is dark-grey, with a yellowish base of the lower mandible. The legs and feet are pale grey-pink. Juveniles have plainer colours than adults.

Taxonomy, classification See Song 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 Song Thrush is available HERE . Song Thrushes are a mostly migratory Eurasian species with four recognized races, of which 3 are found in Europe, while race "nataliae" resides only in western and central Siberia. Song Thrushes are present all year round in central and parts of southern Europe. Around the Mediterranean Sea, including near-coastal parts of northern Africa and the Middle East, in Asia Minor and farther eastward, including parts of Iran, Iraq and coastal northern Arabia, they are winter visitors. Eastward of about the river Rhine and the Danube, into western and central Asia (up to Lake Baikal), they are summer breeding migrants. In the western parts of their range, their distribution ranges from 40 to 70 degrees latitude, while in the East it ranges from 50 to 65 degrees. In some areas, such as e.g. around the northern parts of both the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, they are only found during their migration. Race "hebridensis", which is sedentary, is present only on the outer Hebrides and the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Race "clarkei" populates the rest of Great Britain and Ireland, plus Belgium, the Netherlands and north-western Germany on the European continent. Throughout the remainder of the range, including most of central Europe, nominate race "philomelos" is found. They are permanent residents basically anywhere to the West and South of a line connecting Frisia, on the Dutch/German border, with Lake Superior and southward of a line from Lake Superior to the Danube delta. In the southern 2/3 of Iberia, near-coastal Italy and along the Adriatic coast, through most of Greece up to the Danube Delta, they are found as winter visitors. During the breeding season they extend their range to include almost all of Scandinavia (except the highest parts of the norther mountains and the northern tip of Norway), Finland, the Baltic states and eastern Europe, including European Russia, northward of the Danube.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "philomelos" D. Wilczynska reports spotting a Song Thrush, race "philomelos", at Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, in April 2018. M. Eaton reports finding Song Thrushes, race "philomelos", near Tromso airport, Tromso, Norway, in June 2018. M. Thomas spotted a Song Thrush, race "philomelos", in Eltville, Hessen, Germany, in February 2019. M. Senger reports another at the same location in February 2020, and H. Dahlem-Senger found one in the timeframe April-June 2021. J. Pires reports finding Song Thrushes, race "philomelos", occasionally during the winter months in various locations in southern/central Portugal. Another bird was found in the Cavado river estuary, Esposende, Braga, Portugal, in July 2020. In this northern part of Portugal the species is resident and can be found all year round. S. Cuturilov reports netting, ringing and releasing a Song Thrush, race "philomelos", at Vlasina Lake, Serbia, in October 2019.

Photos

Race "philomelos"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of an adult Song Thrush; note the characteristic "arrowhead" specks (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, April 2018]

Frontal view of a Song Thrush (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, April 2018]

Frontal view of a Song Thrush (photo courtesy of M. Thomas)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, February 2019]

Near-lateral view of a Song Thrush issuing its call; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 17 April 2018
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, April 2018]

Near-lateral view of a Song Thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Tromso airport, Tromso, Norway, in June 2018]

Close-up lateral view of a Song Thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Tromso airport, Tromso, Norway, in June 2018]

Lateral view of a Song Thrush (photo courtesy of M. Thomas)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, February 2019]

Partly obscured lateral view of a Song Thrush (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2015]

Close-up lateral view of a Song Thrush (photo courtesy of S. Cuturilov)
[Vlasina Lake, Serbia, October 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Song Thrush (photo courtesy of M. Thomas)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, February 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Song Thrush (photo courtesy of M. Thomas)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, February 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Song Thrush (photo courtesy of M. Thomas)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, February 2019]

Dorsal view of an adult Song Thrush (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, April 2018]

Comparison of a Song Thrush with an Eurasian Blue Tit (photo courtesy of M. Thomas)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, February 2019]

Food, Diet

Lateral view of a Song Thrush with its prey, a snail (photo courtesy of M. Senger)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, February 2020]

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.

songthr_dw_20190415.m4a	philomelos (Poland)	Male calling female	© DW
songthr_dw_20180417.m4a	philomelos (Poland)	Territorial calls (break of dawn)	© DW
songthr_jp_20200101.m4a	philomelos (Portugal)	?	© JP

More Song 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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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Mon, 21 February 2022, 10:16 +00:00