Rob Robinson

Medium-sized thrush, feeds on a wide range of invertebrates; also fruit from late summer to winter. Nominate philomelos: N and E Europe to C Asia; clarkei: British Isles and W Europe; hebridensis: Outer Hebrides and Isle of Skye; nataliae: Sayan Mountains to Lake Baikal and N Iran. Can exist almost anywhere where trees or bushes accompany open grassland, patches of dead leaves under trees, supporting ample invertebrate food. Population is increasing and the status is Least Concern. Mostly resident but northern populations partially or entirely migratory; more birds move if weather severe.

Season of assessment

B

Population trendStable
Population size
(min-max, best estimate)		47300000-77900000,59700000
Red List categoryLC
Franks, S., Fiedler, W., Arizaga, J., Jiguet, F., Nikolov, B., van der Jeugd, Ambrosini, R, Aizpurua, O., Bairlein, F., Clark, J., Fattorini, N, Hammond, M., Higgins, D, Levering, H., Skellorn, W., Spina, F, Thorup, K. Walker, J., Woodward, I. and Baillie, S.R. (1) (2022) Online Atlas of the movements of European bird populations. https://migrationatlas.org EURING/CMS (1) Principal investigator
Map

Overall Connectivity for Song Thrush

Fennoscandian and Danish birds move mainly NE - SW: most found in SW and S France, S and E Spain and Portugal; less in W Europe and NW Africa; few in the S UK and C Europe. Also N - S movement: found in Italy and Greece. Most UK birds move NNW - SSE, found in W France, Portugal, S Spain and few in NW Africa; also E - W movement, found in Ireland and the Low Countries. Birds from the Low Countries move mainly NE - SW: most found in SW France, also Portugal, W France, S UK and few in Morocco; also N - S movement, found in S France and N Algeria; few move NW - SE, found in Italy. Birds from C and E Europe move mainly NE - SW, most found in SW and S France, E Spain, Balearic Isles and N Algeria; also W Europe, Italy and UK; few move NNW - SSE, found in Corsica, Sardegna, Italy and Greece.

Recoveries by Condition for Song Thrush

Until 1960, 83% of the recoveries were of dead birds, including 27% shot birds. The relative importance of dead in shot birds among the recoveries has gradually declined since then.
Most song thrushes are shot in SW and S France, N and C Italy, W Mediterranean Isles, S and E Spain, Portugal and Belgium; also a lot of shot birds in N and C France, S Italy, the Balkan and N Africa.

Annual Movements for Song Thrush

In Nov - Jan birds are concentrated in S and C UK, S Ireland, W and S Europe, W Mediterranean Isles, Iberian Peninsula and N Algeria; also Morocco, Cyprus, Balkan and few in C and E Europe. Hotspots in the Low Countries and S and C UK stay year-round. From Feb fewer birds in France, in Mar more birds in N UK, C Europe and S Scandinavia, fewer in N Africa and the Balkan. In Apr numbers in Denmark, Fennoscandia, C and E urope increase, numbers in N Africa and S Europe decrease. In May - Sep new hotspots in C Europe, Denmark and S Fennoscandia; also birds in S Europe, N Scandinavia and E Europe. In Oct new hotspots in W and S France, Switzerland and Italy; numbers in E spain, N Africa, the Balkan and around the Black Sea also increase; fewer birds in Fennoscandia, C and E Europe. Song thrushes advanced autumn migration in the Baltic (Redlisiak et al. 2018).

Connectivity by Month by Region for Song Thrush

Fennoscandian and Danish birds mostly winter in SW and S France, S and E Spain and Balearic Isles from Sep - Apr; also UK, W Europe, N Africa and Italy in same period. UK birds are found in Ireland, SW UK and W France from Aug - Mar; also Portugal and Spain and few in the Low Countries and S Europe. Birds of the Low Countries are mostly found in W France; also S France, Spain, Portugal, S UK and few in C Europe, Italy, N Algeria and Morocco from Oct - Mar. Birds of C and E Europe are found mostly in SW and S France, E Spain and Balearic Isles; also many in Italy, Corsica, Sardegna, NW Africa, W Europe, few in the UK and one in Feb on Canary Islands (Las Palmas) from Sep - Mar. From E Europe, birds migrate to N Macedonia, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Israël and Georgia where found from Oct - Jan.

Henk van der Jeugd

References

Statistics Map
N records N individuals N recoveries
Mapped data*
Total available data
*Mapped data include only distant (>= 50 km) recoveries
References Map
Michał, R., Remisiewicz, M., Nowakowski, J.K.2018 . Long-term changes in migration timing of Song Thrush Turdus philomelos at the southern Baltic coast in response to temperatures on route and at breeding grounds. International Journal of Biometeorology 62 Link to Article (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-018-1559-6) : 1595–1605

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