Fun Song Thrush Facts For Kids

The song thrush (Turdus philomelos) is a tiny songbird known for its melodious voice. It has beautiful loud songs with repeating phrases. They are found in the northern hemisphere from the UK to the Siberian region. It migrates to the North African region during winter.  They are known as a monogamous territorial species in many areas. In the places where it migrates, the male song thrushes are known to mark its breeding territory again and they start singing. At the time of migration, they travel during the night with a strong and direct flight action. They are omnivorous and can eat snails, earthworms, and soft fruits like berries. The song thrushes have found their way in English Literature. Many poets like Robert Browning, William Wordsworth, and writer Thomas Hardy have mentioned the song thrushes in their work. They were also kept as pets until the 19th century for their melodious voices. They have been introduced in Australia and New Zealand and thrive there.

This species likes to nest in woodland trees and gardens across Europe, North Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. After reading these interesting facts about the song thrush bird, you should also check out our other articles on pileated woodpecker and peccary facts.

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What type of animal is a song thrush?

The song thrush is a type of bird. It is a small bird with a beautiful, loud melodious voice. They have a very short life span and are monogamous by nature.

What class of animal does a song thrush belong to?

The song thrush belongs to the class of birds or Aves. They are mostly found in the northern region from the UK to the Siberian region and beyond. They are migratory birds and fly towards North Africa at the onset of winters.

How many song thrushes are there in the world?

They have a population of 40-71 million individuals in Europe. However, due to its migratory nature, an exact and complete figure may be difficult to come by. Due to the constant loss of habitat, the population of song thrush is declining in many of these regions.

Where does a song thrush live?

The song thrush lives in the European and Eurasian regions, which is known as West Palearctic. They are common in Ukraine and Russia almost up till Lake Baikal. During winters, the song thrushes of the North European region migrate to North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. They have also been introduced in Australia and New Zealand recently. These birds love to be amongst wildlife and live in a cup-shaped nest which is lined with mud.

What is a song thrush's habitat?

The song thrushes ideal habitat is a cup shaped nest which is lined with mud around trees, bushes, which can be found in common parks, gardens, coniferous, and deciduous woodlands and hedgerows. The bird normally nests in a forest region with a good undergrowth and nearby open areas. In Switzerland, it breeds up to a tree line reaching a height of 2200 meters.

Who do song thrushes live with?

The song thrushes are known to be solitary birds. Sometimes small groups are formed for finding food or roosting aggregations and they also migrate in groups that are large but loosely coordinated flocks. Their preferred habitat is a range of woodland trees and gardens.

How long does a song thrush live?

They have an average life span of three years. The maximum recorded age is 10 years and eight months. The average survival rate for the younger song thrushes to 54.6% in the UK, and for adults, it is 62.2%. The adult birds are killed by cats, little owls, and sparrow hawks. The song thrush eggs and baby song thrushes are taken by magpies, jay, and grey squirrels if present.

How do they reproduce?

The female song thrush likes to hide deep in mud and it builds a nest therein with a tree or a creeper beside it. And they lay three to five eggs, with one egg laid every day. The females will start to incubate the eggs once all are laid. The eggs will hatch after 15-17 days. Only the females brood the chicks, but the male and female song thrushes feed them together. Often, there is a considerable loss of eggs and nestlings; studies have confirmed that only a third survive.

What is their conservation status?

There has been an evident population decline, but it is at a level below the threshold required for global conservation concerns to be raised. In the IUCN Red List, this species is categorized under the status of Least Concern. The loss of habitat is one of the major reasons for the decline in population.

What do song thrushes look like?

The songbird thrust comes from a singing family background. Its family is known as Turdidae, a member of the passerine. They have brown upperparts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts. They are divided into three recognizable subspecies. Its white belly is covered within black drop-shaped spots.

How cute are they?

The song thrush is known for its loud melodious voice, which is like a distinctive song with repeated musical phrases. They are definitely cute-looking tiny birds that prefer to be left alone. They were kept as pets until the 19th century, however with their declining population, due to habitat loss, this has raised concerns for this cute songbird.

How do they communicate?

They are species known for their singing capabilities. Their song consists of a series of vigorous simple phrases which have penetrating quality. The fluting notes are interspersed with harsh tones and mimicry of other birds too. For their weight and size, song thrush calls have one of the loudest bird calls.

How big is a song thrush?

The song thrush is small to a medium-sized bird. The male and female song thrush look similar, only the females are slightly heavier than the males.

How high can a song thrush fly?

The song thrushes can fly fairly high despite their small size, as they are migratory birds.

How much does a song thrush weigh?

The song thrush weighs 50-107 gms. Both the sexes are similar-looking. Only the female song thrushes may weigh slightly more.

What are their male and female names of the species?

Male song thrushes are known as mavis, but this can also apply to female song thrushes. There is no specific name for a female song thrush.

What would you call a baby song thrush?

The baby song thrush is known as a chick.

What do they eat?

The song thrush birds are omnivores meaning they can eat small soft fruits like cherries, strawberries, and other berries. They also eat a large number of invertebrates as food like earthworms and snails. The song thrushes may use a favorite small stone-like anvil to smash the snail and extract its soft body. The nestlings are fed worms, slugs, and insect larvae. These birds hunt for their food like snails by sight.

Are they aggressive?

The song thrushes are known to be aggressive and territorial often when they are defending a good source of food. They can be seen flying at the other birds, and producing loud rattling sounds like a mistle thrush.

Would they make a good pet?

The song thrushes were kept as pets till the 19th century for their melodious voice. You can keep them as pets, but make sure you source them from a licensed aviary that has all their valid documents ready. They will make a good pet if you enjoy their melodious voice and loud singing. Song thrush loves to eat snails like a mistle thrush, so make sure you have the adequate supplies.  

Did you know...

A century ago the song thrushes were regarded as Britain’s most common birds.

The average distance a song thrush moves between ringing and recovery is 0.6 miles.

The song thrush pair will have two or three broods a season.

Song thrushes were introduced in New Zealand and Australia from Europe. In New Zealand, these birds thrived and are among the most common birds found on the island now. But in Australia, we can only find a population around Melbourne. They live on a range of woodland trees and gardens.

Not all song thrush bird populations are migratory. Some types of song thrush birds do not migrate during winters.

West Bromwich Albion Football Club has an emblem known as the song thrush bird.

The Song thrush population is declining due to the loss of their main food, such as slugs, snails, and worms. Plus the loss of their nesting areas is another major reason for the decline in their population.

The distinctive song thrush song has various musical phrases and has been used by many poets and writers.

How many eggs does a song thrush lay?

The song thrush would lay three to five sky blue-colored eggs which have black or purple spots in them. The female lays one egg every day till the clutch size is achieved and then incubates them for 10-17 days. They continue with this cycle between May and August.

What color is a song thrush?

They have brown upperparts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts. It has a white belly covered within black drop-shaped spots. There are varied thrush song types and they range in aesthetics slightly, but this wide range contributes to their cuteness.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds including pheasant, or tawny owl.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our thrush coloring pages.