Mistle Thrush

The Mistle Thrush, a large thrush with a long tail, is the largest of our Turdidae. It can be confused with the smaller Song Thrush in a frontal view and I will point out the differences. Three subspecies are described, which are only slightly different from the nominate. I will describe this latter one which occupies Europe. The Mistle Thrush is recognizable by its large size, its upper parts of a cold brown-grey, the uniformity of which is broken by the light edging of the remiges and coverts, the paleness of the lower parts which show more or less visible dark areas on each side of the chest at the wrists, the head pattern (side of the head showing from front to back a malar streak starting from the beak, a thick vertical stripe under the eye and an arc behind the ear coverts, the three blackish on a whitish background) and the tail showing white in the external rectrices. The eye is dark, the beak strong, blackish, with yellow at the base. Seen from the front, a Song Thrush would show a similar head pattern, but often less noticeable, with a crown of a warm brown and reddish-fawn sides. In addition, the chest and flanks would be more or less tinged with red. The juvenile can be recognized by the mantle and the scapulars streaked with beige-fawn.