Scientific name: Turdus philomelos
Status: Resident breeding species
Breeding birds: 1,200,000 territories
Conservation status: Red
Length: 23 cm
Wingspan: 33 – 36 cm
Weight: 65 – 100 g
Song thrushes have brown upperparts and pale buff underparts with dark speckles that look like upside down hearts and arranged in lines. They have a chestnut brown tinge on the upper breast and their bellies are white with fewer spots.
Song thrushes have brown heads with a pale line from the base of the bill to the eyes. Their bills are black with pale yellow on their mandibles, eyes are dark brown, and legs and feet are pale pink.
Juveniles look similar to adults with pale streaks on their backs.
Song thrushes build their nests in bushes or trees. The cup-shaped nest is built by the female and constructed from grass, twigs and mud and lined with dung mixed with saliva.
Song thrushes lay 3-9 bright-blue, glossy eggs which are incubated by the female alone for 11-15 days. Chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 12-16 days later.
Song thrushes eat worms, caterpillars, insects, berries, and snails, by smashing the shell against a rock.
Where to see them
Song thrushes can be found across all of the UK. They can be spotted in woods, parks, hedgerows, and gardens all year round.
Did you know?
Although snails are an important food for song thrushes they only eat them when the ground is frozen or too dry for them to dig for worms.