Thrushes

All 4 species of thrushes on WAnimals

Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Conservation status

Where they live

Recorded in 48 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Where to see them

Did you know…?

• It sings through a gale, which earned it the English nickname stormcock.

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• Its scientific name means mistletoe eater, and it is the plant's main disperser in Europe: the seeds pass through its gut and stick to branches when the bird wipes its bill, planting them exactly where they will germinate.

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• A single bird can defend a berry-laden tree all winter, driving off every other thrush and securing the larder until spring.

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• It migrates at night, and its calls carry down to the ground as it passes.

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• In the olive groves of southern Spain a study found that 86% of its winter diet was plant matter, and of that fraction 97% was olives: in the Altiplano of Granada they call it "aceitunero", the olive-eater.

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• It is so nomadic and so unfaithful to its wintering areas that the Iberian wintering population can swing between several million and a few thousand from one year to the next.

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• The colony defends its nests by bombarding predators with droppings.

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Ecosystems