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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.

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.

Race "philomelos"