Food
Earthworms, spiders, centipedes, insects and their larvae and snails. Fruit in autumn and winter.
Voice
Clear, gragmented song, described as 'How-d'ye-do? Bo-beep, bo-beep; Judy; Judy; pretty Dick'. Mimics. Quiet 'sipp' in contact., often in flight when flushed. A 'tsip' call. Clucking 'tchook-tchook' or 'tic-tic-tic' in alarm, developing into tinny chatter. A loud, repititive, musical song.
Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) [XC831496]
by Agris Celmins from Penderi, Valles pagasts, Latvia (song)
Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) [XC783272]
by Susanne Kuijpers from Arrondissement Leuven (near Bertem), Vlaams-Brabant, Vlaams Gewest, Netherlands (song)
Nest
A well-shaped cup of grasses, small twigs and leaves, strengthened with wood pulp or mud and lined with debris cemented with saliva, in bushes, hedges or thick, low vegatation.
Eggs (Guide)
4 - 6; pale green-blue, spotted with black, especially at the larger end; oval; about 29 x 21 mm. Incubation: about 13 - 14 days; usually by female.
Young
Nidicolous. Fledge in 13 - 14 days.
Subspecies
May form a superspecies with Chinese Thrush (Otocichla mupinensis). Subspecies nataliae very similar to nominate and perhaps better merged with it. Subspecies intergrade.
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
hebridensis Clarke, WE, 1913 - Western Scotland (Outer Hebrides, I of Skye, western mainland coast) and western Ireland.
clarkei Hartert, 1909 - Western Europe. Non-breeding also south-western Europe and north-western Africa.
philomelos Brehm, 1831 - Europe (except west), northern Turkey, Caucasus area and northern Iran. Non-breeding western and southern Europe, northern Africa, Arabian Peninsula and south-western Asia.
nataliae Buturlin, 1929 - Western and central Siberia. Non-breeding north-eastern Africa and south-western Asia.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet