Spanish Bird of the Week #3: Song Thrush

By James

On a rare cloudy day in Seville, I elected to travel to another one of the urban parks that dot the city. While calling this park a greenway would be more than a compliment, it still gave me a good look at one of Europe’s more common birds, the Song Thrush.

Like the thrushes we get in the States, distinguishing a Song Thrush from the closely related Mistle Thrush is no easy task. There are several distinguishing characteristics, such as their behavior. Mistle Thrushes tend to stay on the ground, and stay very upright, while Song Thrushes kept to the trees. Thankfully, the thrush gave me a perfect look at the best diagnostic, the breast patterning. 

The Song Thrush’s breast speckles are described as “upside-down hearts” while those of the Mistle Thrush seem more like thorns. Unfortunately, I never came across a Mistle Thrush in my four months abroad, though I found several more Song Thrushes. I guess I’ll need to do another trip over to Europe to get them. Que mala suerte.