Song Thrush
Turdus philomelos
Habitat
Ground
Diet
Omnivore
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
68 g
About This Species
This russet-brown, spot-breasted thrush is a familiar sound across European woodland, hedgerows and gardens, known for a loud, far-carrying song built from short phrases that are typically repeated two or three times before changing. It forages on lawns and leaf litter for worms and insects, and is one of the few birds to smash snail shells against a favourite stone, known as a thrush's anvil, leaving a telltale scatter of broken shells. Dawn and dusk in spring are the best times to hear it singing from a high, exposed perch.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Watching quietly from a short distance while a bird forages on open ground or sings from a perch is unlikely to cause disturbance, but nests in dense hedges and shrubs are easily damaged by close inspection and should be left well alone.
- Across the United Kingdom and the European Union this species and its nest are protected under national wildlife legislation and the Birds Directive, making deliberate disturbance or nest destruction an offence, though the fine detail of enforcement differs between countries.
- Trimming hedges outside the spring and summer breeding season is the most effective way to avoid destroying an active nest.
Seasonal Activity
3,957,595 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Turdidae
Traits
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 68 g
Photo
(c) Ximo Galarza, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)
CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.