GOOD FENCES - Mistle thrush - Turdus Viscivorus

I was travelling down a country road and spied this Mistle Thrush on top of  telephone pole so this series of shots were taken from the car at a very a awkward angle.  Sometimes people cannot tell the difference between this thrush and the Song Thrush so today I will endeavour to do this.

The Mistle Thrush is a large thrush, it could only be confused with its cousin, the Song Thrush. Mistle Thrushes dwarf Song Thrushes, they can be up to 10cm larger.  They are a slightly less common breed and like Song Thrush, numbers increase during winter with continental birds moving in to escape harsh winter conditions.

Adult males and females are alike.

Mistle Thrush is less numerous than Song Thrush and prefers more open habitat.  During breeding in Summer we only have two ‘spotted’ thrushes to worry about, Mistle and Song.  In the winter we have 2 more.  The Fieldfare and Redwing.

Mistle Thrush is a large thrush, larger than Blackbird and huge compared to Song Thrush, it measures close to 30cm and is therefore a third larger than Song.

Upperparts and tail are dull greyish brown, not as rich as Songs.

The rump is paler than the rest of the upperparts.

Tail is long, dark and has white edges and obvious white corners.

The head appears pale with plenty of white patches, often looks ‘open’ faced.

It tends to stand very upright and will often search for food in the shadows.

Mistle Thrush shows more pale markings on the wings and the underparts are not as buffy as on Song Thrush.

The Spotting on the underparts are rounded and it often appears to show a dark smudging on the side of the breast.  The Song Thrush's marking are like arrows pointing upwards. Mistle's bill is dark with paler lower mandible, eye dark, legs pale like the Song.  Unlike the Mistle Thrush, the Song Thrush usually flies low, below tree top height, from bush to bush. 

Undertail is white with some dark flecking.  

In flight the bird appears large, fairly long tailed and 

the underwing coverts are white.

Breeding for the Mistle Thrush takes place from February to May whereas the Song is March –June.

Juveniles appear from April onwards and are similar to adults but upperparts more marked.

Lifespan is 3 years for both Thrushes.  

I know this is not much of a fence, just the top of it, 

however I hope you enjoyed the post.

I am linking this post with Tex's meme -  GOOD FENCES

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