Song thrush
Turdus philomelos C. L. Brehm, 1831
The song thrush (Turdus philomelos) is a bird in the family Turdidae, order Passeriformes, belonging to the songbirds and other perching birds. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 67.74 g, up to 72 g, and a wingspan of 36 cm.
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Quick facts about the song thrush
The song thrush is an invertivore at the omnivore trophic level, lives in forest habitat, is a generalist forager and is migratory. It lays clutches of 4 eggs, 2 clutches per year, with an incubation period of 11.5 days, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 67.7 g – 72 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 36 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 17.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 11.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.9 – 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the song thrush?
Photos of the song thrush
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the song thrush live?
Not recorded
What is the song thrush?
The song thrush (Turdus philomelos) is a thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic. It has brown upperparts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has four recognised subspecies. Its distinctive song, which features repeated musical phrases, has frequently been referenced in poetry.
The song thrush breeds in forests, gardens and parks. It is partially migratory, with many birds wintering in southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The species has also been introduced into New Zealand and Australia. While it is not globally threatened, serious population declines have been observed in some European regions, potentially due to changes in farming practices.
The song thrush builds a neat, mud-lined cup nest in a bush or tree and lays four to five dark-spotted blue eggs. It is omnivorous and has the habit of using a favourite stone as an "anvil" on which to break open the shells of snails. Like other perching birds (passerines), it is susceptible to external and internal parasites and is vulnerable to predation by cats and birds of prey.
From the Wikipedia article “Song thrush” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Song_thrush&oldid=1379879117), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the song thrush sound like?
Is the song thrush endangered?
The song thrush is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the song thrush classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyTurdidae
- genusTurdus
- SpeciesTurdus philomelos C. L. Brehm, 1831
Synonyms Iliacus musicus, Lampronotus musicus, Lamprophonus musicus, Merula musica, Sylvia musica, Turdus ericetorum, Turdus philomelogus
Other names and names in other languages (100)
- SOTHEnglish
- ThrEnglish
- سمنة مطربةArabic
- سمنة مغردةArabic
- SistónAragonese
- malvísAsturian
- Oxuyan qaratoyuqAzerbaijani
- Йырсы барҡылдаҡBashkir
- KranewitterBavarian
- Дрозд-спявунBelarusian
- Поен дроздBulgarian
- সং থ্রাশBangla
- Drask sutBreton
- Drask-sutBreton
- tord comúCatalan
- Мырызы лагыMari
- СырлӑханChuvash
- СырлăханChuvash
- drozd zpěvnýCzech
- bronfraithWelsh
- BronfreithodWelsh
- SangdrosselDanish
- SingdrosselGerman
- Κοινή ΤσίχλαGreek
- ΚελαηδότσιχλαGreek
- (Κοινή) ΤσίχλαGreek
- KantoturdoEsperanto
- kanta turdoEsperanto
- Zorzal comúnSpanish
- laulurästasEstonian
- Birigarro arruntaBasque
- توکای باغیPersian
- laulurastasFinnish
- LjómtrøsturFaroese
- Grive communeFrench
- Grive chanteuseFrench
- Grive musicienneFrench
- SjongtrooselNorthern Frisian
- Smólach ceoilIrish
- smeòrachScottish Gaelic
- smeòraicheanScottish Gaelic
- Tordo comúnGalician
- TreshlenManx
- קיכלי רונןHebrew
- drozd cikeljCroatian
- énekes rigóHungarian
- Երգող կեռնեխArmenian
- SöngþrösturIcelandic
- SöngßrösturIcelandic
- Tordo bottaccioItalian
- ウタツグミJapanese
- ჯიჯღიGeorgian
- БзуущхъуэKabardian
- Әуезшіл сайрақKazakh
- 노래지빠귀Korean
- Molgh losCornish
- DréischelLuxembourgish
- strazdas giesmininkasLithuanian
- dziedātājstrazdsLatvian
- PiopioMāori
- дрозд пејачMacedonian
- TordoMirandese
- zanglijsterDutch
- måltrastNorwegian Nynorsk
- måltrostNorwegian
- Haugiračoiolo
- LutrognePicard
- Drozd śpiewakPolish
- (drozd) śpiewakPolish
- śpiewakPolish
- tordo-pintoPortuguese
- tordo-músicoPortuguese
- Sturz cântătorRomanian
- Певчий дроздRussian
- Ырыаһыт чаччыгыныарYakut
- MavisScots
- LoddejievžiNorthern Sami
- lávlorásttisNorthern Sami
- drozd plavýSlovak
- cikovtSlovenian
- cirlaAlbanian
- ceriliAlbanian
- cërrjaAlbanian
- mullënja e bardhëAlbanian
- mullibardhaAlbanian
- mullijëbardhaAlbanian
- tusha këngëtareAlbanian
- Drozd pevačSerbian
- Дрозд певачSerbian
- TrulluSardinian
- taltrastSwedish
- Сайрар баркылдыкTatar
- öter ardıçTurkish
- Öter ardıç kuşuTurkish
- Şarkıcı ArdıçTurkish
- дрізд співочийUkrainian
- Tordo da uaVenetian
- 歌鶇Chinese
- 欧歌鸫Chinese
- 歐歌鶇Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the song thrush
Other species in the same genus Turdus.
Common blackbird
Turdus merula
Fieldfare
Turdus pilaris
Mistle thrush
Turdus viscivorus
Ring ouzel
Turdus torquatus
Redwing
Turdus iliacus
American robin
Turdus migratorius
CompareSong thrush vs Common blackbirdSong thrush vs FieldfareSong thrush vs Mistle thrushSong thrush vs Ring ouzel
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the song thrush?
The song thrush is a bird in the family Turdidae and the order Passeriformes, part of the songbirds and other perching birds.
How heavy is a song thrush?
An adult song thrush weighs 67.74 g, with a highest reported value of 72 g. It is classed as a small bird.
What does the song thrush eat?
The song thrush is an invertivore, placed at the omnivore trophic level.
Is the song thrush endangered?
No. The song thrush is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a song thrush live?
The song thrush has a lifespan of 17.54 years, with a highest reported value of 17.7 years.
How many eggs does a song thrush lay?
The song thrush lays 4 eggs per clutch and has 2 clutches per year. The eggs are incubated for 11.5 days.
Is the song thrush migratory?
Yes, the song thrush is migratory.
Who named the song thrush?
The song thrush, Turdus philomelos, was named by C. L. Brehm in 1831.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Song thrush (Turdus philomelos). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/song-thrush
“Song thrush (Turdus philomelos).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/song-thrush.
@misc{song_thrush_2026,
title = {Song thrush (Turdus philomelos)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/song-thrush},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}