Song Thrush

Song Thrush

Turdus philomelos

Silhouette: Zeynel Cebeci · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Moscow

In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%

1,743 Verified sightings at Moscow
10,921 In all 34 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Song Thrush

The song thrush (Turdus philomelos) is a thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic. It has brown upperparts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has four recognised subspecies. Its distinctive song, which features repeated musical phrases, has frequently been referenced in poetry.

The song thrush breeds in forests, gardens and parks. It is partially migratory, with many birds wintering in southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The species has also been introduced into New Zealand and Australia. While it is not globally threatened, serious population declines have been observed in some European regions, potentially due to changes in farming practices.

The song thrush builds a neat, mud-lined cup nest in a bush or tree and lays four to five dark-spotted blue eggs. It is omnivorous and has the habit of using a favourite stone as an "anvil" on which to break open the shells of snails. Like other perching birds (passerines), it is susceptible to external and internal parasites and is vulnerable to predation by cats and birds of prey.

The song thrush was described by German ornithologist Christian Ludwig Brehm in 1831, and... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Flight call0:07

Italy · 2026

© Paolo Zucca · XC1186029 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call0:10

France · 2026

© Thierry THOMAS · XC1185466 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:05

United Kingdom · 2026

© Mark James Pearson · XC1184873 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Białowieża National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~60%
2 Arthur's Pass National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~60%
3 Plitvice Lakes National Park 🇭🇷 Croatia
~60%
4 Aoraki Mount Cook National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~50%
5 Abel Tasman National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~40%
6 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~40%
7 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
8 Fiordland National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~30%
9 Biebrza National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~30%
10 Tatra National Park 🇸🇰 Slovakia
~30%
11 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
12 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~30%
13 Picos de Europa National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~30%
14 Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~30%
15 Egmont National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~30%
16 Hohe Tauern National Park 🇦🇹 Austria
~20%
17 Rakiura National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~20%
18 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
~20%
19 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
20 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~20%
21 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~20%
22 Vanoise National Park 🇫🇷 France
~20%
23 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
~20%
24 Mercantour National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
25 Aigüestortes National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
26 Kiskunság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
27 Ecrins National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
28 Gauja National Park 🇱🇻 Latvia
~10%
29 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
30 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
31 Hortobágy National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
32 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
33 Camargue 🇫🇷 France
<5%
34 Great Otway National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Auckland 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~60%
2 Manchester 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~40%
3 Moscow 🇷🇺 Russia
~40%
4 London 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
5 Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
6 Liverpool 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
7 Jerusalem 🇮🇱 Israel
~30%
8 Tehran 🇮🇷 Iran
~30%
9 Nizhny Novgorod 🇷🇺 Russia
~30%
10 Essen 🇩🇪 Germany
~20%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Prague Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
2 Zoo Pilsen 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
3 Bronx Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
4 Schönbrunn Zoo 🇦🇹 Austria In captivity
5 Tierpark Hexentanzplatz 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
6 Rákosův pavilon 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
7 Velemlokárium 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Song Thrush in Moscow?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Song Thrush sighting in Moscow on a given day, based on 1,743 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 16th most-seen of the 171 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Song Thrush in Moscow?

April and May

In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Song Thrush in Moscow on a given day, against under 5% in November to February, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Song Thrush?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Song Thrush sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Moscow the best place to see a Song Thrush?

3rd of 63

Of the 63 cities where we can rate Song Thrush sightings, Moscow ranks 3rd at about 40%. The best odds are in Auckland (New Zealand, about 60%) and Manchester (United Kingdom, about 40%).

Which relatives of the Song Thrush live in Moscow?

Same genus: Turdus

The closest relatives of the Song Thrush that you can see in Moscow (genus Turdus, Typical Thrushes) are Fieldfare (about 70%), Eurasian Blackbird (about 50%) and Redwing (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Song Thrush sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Song Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Moscow (1,743 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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