Mistle and Song - two good singers.
05th April 2021
Now is the time of year to see and hear Song Thrush but also Mistle Thrush. One is an established singer and is often lauded as so, the other, although not recognized as such is still a very capable vocalist. It’s easy to separate the two by identification and also by their calls. The Song Thrush’s call is a very discreet ‘Zit’ barely noticeable and largely unheard because of this. The Mistle Thrush’s call contrastingly is a very loud and prolonged rattle which is very diagnostic. However, with regard to their respective songs, I’m quite sure many people hear a Mistle Thrush singing and assume it’s a Song Thrush.
The Mistle Thrush’s song is clear and loud with quite harsh tones with sharp short notes and verses interspersed with quite long pauses, (these pauses are a good way to separate the two birds)! It’s also a little more monotonous than the Song Thrush with fewer squeaky embellishments. Nevertheless it is a very accomplished singer and to the unpractised ear could easily be mistaken for a Song Thrush.
The Song Thrush, however, has a bold announcing song which is much more varied than the Mistle Thrush, with squeaky and shrill cascading notes repeated multiple times with hardly any pauses. It’s logical therefore to assume that the difference in songs is straightforward, but it’s also easy to become complacent and to assume that it must be a Song Thrush because it's singing - but it isn’t always the case.
With regard to identification; the Mistle Thrush is a bigger bird with a longer tail and it’s also a much stronger flier than the Song Thrush.
Plumage – wise it has round spotting on its belly and flanks which almost always form a diffused smudging on its upper breast. The throat has irregular spotting and it has a conspicuous pale cheeck patch.
The Song Thrush is a much smaller, rounder bird with a short tail, it hops around on the ground looking for food and in flight, although fast, has a more undulating and less direct flight.
It has much more uniform ‘Arrow Head’ type markings on its belly, breast and flanks and a broad yellow / buff band on its flanks and breast. It is also much more plain brown on its back.
These birds although quite different when examined by song, call and plumage can still easily, without clear views, be confused in the field.
The Mistle Thrush’s song is clear and loud with quite harsh tones with sharp short notes and verses interspersed with quite long pauses, (these pauses are a good way to separate the two birds)! It’s also a little more monotonous than the Song Thrush with fewer squeaky embellishments. Nevertheless it is a very accomplished singer and to the unpractised ear could easily be mistaken for a Song Thrush.
The Song Thrush, however, has a bold announcing song which is much more varied than the Mistle Thrush, with squeaky and shrill cascading notes repeated multiple times with hardly any pauses. It’s logical therefore to assume that the difference in songs is straightforward, but it’s also easy to become complacent and to assume that it must be a Song Thrush because it's singing - but it isn’t always the case.
With regard to identification; the Mistle Thrush is a bigger bird with a longer tail and it’s also a much stronger flier than the Song Thrush.
Plumage – wise it has round spotting on its belly and flanks which almost always form a diffused smudging on its upper breast. The throat has irregular spotting and it has a conspicuous pale cheeck patch.
The Song Thrush is a much smaller, rounder bird with a short tail, it hops around on the ground looking for food and in flight, although fast, has a more undulating and less direct flight.
It has much more uniform ‘Arrow Head’ type markings on its belly, breast and flanks and a broad yellow / buff band on its flanks and breast. It is also much more plain brown on its back.
These birds although quite different when examined by song, call and plumage can still easily, without clear views, be confused in the field.