Family Thrushes (Turdidae)
Least Concern
Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus)
Taxonomy
French: Grive draine German: Misteldrossel Spanish: Zorzal charlo
Taxonomy:
Turdus viscivorus
Linnaeus
, 1758,Essex, England
.
Subspecies and Distribution
T. v. viscivorus
Linnaeus, 1758 – Europe E to W Siberia and N Iran; in winter also N Africa and SW Asia.
T. v. deichleri
Erlanger, 1897 – NW Africa, Corsica and Sardinia.
T. v. bonapartei
Cabanis, 1860 – Turkmenistan and SC Siberia (E from R Ob) S to Altai, NW China (W Xinjiang), Tien Shan, NE Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Himalayas to C Nepal; winters in C & S Asia.
Descriptive notes
27–28 cm; 93–167 g. Large, long-tailed, rather pale thrush. Nominate race is brownish-grey above, with buffy-olive rump, narrow whitish wingbars and greyish... read more
Voice
Song, by male from treetop, at times in flight (relatively common in open park-like landscapes), a... read more
Habitat
Mosaic of wooded and open country, thus open mature forest, woodland glades, orchards, riverside... read more
Food and feeding
Invertebrates and, in autumn and winter, seeds and fruits. Animal food includes adult and larval beetles (Coleoptera) of at least ten... read more
Breeding
Late Mar to late Jun in W & C Europe, and from late Apr at earliest in N (Finland); late Mar to Jul in Afghanistan E to W Himalayas;... read more
Movements
Largely sedentary or partial migrant in W of range, roughly from Germany S to Balkans, Turkey and... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened. Common in most of range; fairly scarce in Afghanistan; uncommon to frequent resident in NW Africa; locally common in W Himalayas. Densities in hilly... read more
Genetic data#R#R indicate that this species is basal within the genus. Three subspecies recognized.