Mistle Thrush

Not getting out much this weekend, I decided to look back on some of my nature notes I made twenty or so years ago and came across this one on the mistle thrush.

"Chatter - Chatter - Chatter" is the distinct call of the mistle thrush as it flies away when disturbed.  That may be all you hear or see of this shy, mysterious thrush in your neighbourhood. It's been described as mysterious by ornithologists because of its similarity to the song thrush; indeed, when most people see a thrush they assume it is a song thrush not realising mistle thrush exists - hence its mystique.  So how do we distinguish mistle thrush from song thrush?

Mistle differ from song by being greyish above (song is brown), having a more spotted breast, an upright stance, larger size (27cm), white underwing (song is yellow) and white tips to the outer tail feathers.

As mentioned above the flight call is a chattering call.  The song too is distinctive being similar to the blackbird but lacking the fluty notes of that species.  The sheer power of the song is its most striking feature being heard over a great distance.  This powerful song is often given from the top of a tall tree as early as January even in the most atrocious of weather; its alternative name of stormcock reflects this characteristic of defying the elements.

Food consists of insects and spiders - hence most birds you see are feeding on the ground. They also have a diet of berries, mistletoe berry is the main one from where the bird gets its name.  Other berries are also to their liking and they will defend berry bushes in winter aggressively chasing off other thrushes from taking them.

Birds can be found in parks, gardens and open spaces with scattered trees and bushes.  So if you are out and about, getting to know the habits, plumage, habitat and voice of the mistle thrush helps the mystery to fade away revealing a large handsome thrush one to look out for and worth watching.