Bird in the family Turdidae from Europe, Asia and North Africa
For the band, see Mistle Thrush (band).
Mistle thrush
In Baikonur, Kazakhstan
Song recorded in West Sussex, England
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Order:
Passeriformes
Family:
Turdidae
Genus:
Turdus
Species:
T. viscivorus
Binomial name
Turdus viscivorus
Linnaeus, 1758
Range of T. viscivorus
Breeding
Resident
Non-breeding
The mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorus), also spelled missel thrush, is a bird common to much of Europe, temperate Asia and North Africa. It is a year-round resident in a large part of its range, but northern and eastern populations migrate south for the winter, often in small flocks. It is a large thrush with pale grey-brown upper parts, a greyish-white chin and throat, and black spots on its pale yellow and off-white under parts. The sexes are similar in plumage, and its three subspecies show only minimal differences. The male has a loud, far-carrying song which is delivered even in wet and windy weather, earning the bird the old name of stormcock.
Found in open woods, parks, hedges and cultivated land, the mistle thrush feeds on a wide variety of invertebrates, seeds and berries. Its preferred fruits include those of the mistletoe, holly and yew. Mistletoe is favoured where it is available, and this is reflected in the thrush's English and scientific names; the plant, a parasitic species, benefits from its seeds being excreted by the thrush onto branches where they can germinate. In winter, a mistle thrush will vigorously defend mistletoe clumps or a holly tree as a food reserve for when times are hard.
The open cup nest is built against a trunk or in a forked branch, and is fearlessly defended against potential predators, sometimes including humans or cats. The clutch, typically of three to five eggs, is incubated for 12–15 days, mainly by the female. The chicks fledge about 14–16 days after hatching. There are normally two broods. There was a range expansion in the 18th and early 19th centuries, and a small decline in recent decades, perhaps due to changes in agricultural practices. Given its high numbers and very large range, this thrush is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being of least concern.
^BirdLife International (2016). "Turdus viscivorus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22708829A87878799.en.
The mistlethrush (Turdus viscivorus), also spelled missel thrush, is a bird common to much of Europe, temperate Asia and North Africa. It is a year-round...
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thrush's closest relatives are the similarly plumaged mistlethrush (T. viscivorus) and Chinese thrush (T. mupinensis); these three species are early offshoots...
species was subsequently designated as the mistlethrush. The name Turdus is the Latin word for a "thrush". The genus contains 87 extant species and one...
actuality drupes). Of the many bird species that feed on them, the mistlethrush is the best-known in Europe, the phainopepla in southwestern North America...
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two European thrushes, the song thrush and mistlethrush, are early offshoots from the Eurasian lineage of Turdus thrushes after they spread north from Africa...
were massive declines during the 1970s). Kestrel, swift, skylark, and mistlethrush have continued to decline due to changes in agricultural practices such...
This technique makes them an important propagator of mistletoe. The mistlethrush, which also favours that plant, is less beneficial since it tends to...
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