Mistle Thrush

How to identify

Field marks

1. Yellowish-white breast and belly covered in round black spots
2. Grayish-white throat
3. White tips to outer tail feathers; white underwing
4. Black bill with yellow at the base of the lower mandible

Male, female and young

The sexes have the same plumage; juveniles have paler upperparts with creamy teardrop-shaped markings in the feather centers, and smaller spots on the underparts.

Voice

A dry, sustained “krrrr”, like a football rattle; the male has a loud, fluty song.

Similar species

Song Thrush

Mistle Thrush is larger and paler than Song Thrush, with a longer tail.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: April and October · Most records: United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal

Mistle Thrush has been recorded at 1,122 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 72 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. Amwell HMWT NRUnited Kingdom1,721 records
2. Rutland WaterUnited Kingdom1,116 records
3. Peak District NP – Underhill Farm, ElkstoneUnited Kingdom889 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United KingdomSpainPortugalFranceGermanyIrelandCzechiaPoland

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorus) 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.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions