There are various species of thrushes that are found all over the world, being an extremely common variant of bird. Only six of them however can be seen in the UK.
Among the subcategories, the song thrush and mistle thrush are two different species of the thrush family that are often confused by people.
This is mainly because both these birds share plenty of similarities in different aspects, like habits, appearance, etc.
So In this article, I’ve explained the complete difference between Mistle and Song thrush in detail.
Mistle Thrush or Song Thrush: Complete Difference Table
The principal difference between these two birds is their appearance.
Yes, it’s true that the visual similarity itself is the reason why people tend to confuse these two birds, but their appearance itself too can distinguish these two birds on careful observation.
Song Thrushes have a rounder appearance with a lighter shade of breasts that have hints of inverted heart or arrowhead-shaped marks all over them.
Whereas Mistle Thrushes have comparatively lighter and an almost greyish shade detected at first glance. It also has thorn-like markings that almost look like texture all over it.
| Song Thrushes | Mistle Thrushes |
| They are all brown in shade with lighter colors all over them. | Mistle Thrushes are larger in size than most birds belonging to the Thrush family. |
| Their breasts have darker spots that look like arrowheads or inverted hearts. | These birds are even larger than general blackbirds. Both males and females are identical. |
| These birds are quite small in size compared to the standard size of Thrushes or a Blackbird. | It is comparatively lighter than the usual shade, mostly grey in color. |
| They are also smaller than Mistle Thrushes being a differentiating factor. | The spots on their breasts are thorn-shaped. |
| They have a more rounded appearance. | The marks these birds have on their flanks and bellies are comparatively blunter than that of Song Thrushes. |
| Their tails are of the same shade as their body. | The colors of their tales are different from their body, creating a contrast. |
| They have no outer tail feathers. | Their lower back and rump are of a uniform shade. |
| They display a rusty buff shade under their wings. Sometimes this rusty hue can extend up to their flanks. | The outer edges of their tails are paler than the tale itself. |
| Their wing feathers are most likely to exhibit an orange buff shade on the edges. | They have a hint of white shade under their wings. |
| Both male and female counterparts of these birds are identical. | Their wingtips and edges also have the extension of this white shade. |
| Their songs are repetitive if listened carefully. | These birds perch on grounds in an alarmed posture, quite a unique feature to them. |
| Their song uses the tones ‘seoo ×3, tidic ×3, tew ×3.’ | Their songs are apparently and largely similar to the ones of the blackbirds. |
| Their songs might sound like a clicking noise from a bicycle wheel while spinning. | However, their tunes are shorter and have more of a gloomy taste. |
Lastly, which ones are more common?
The Song Thrushes are more common among these two because of their huge breeding population estimated to be around 1 million!
At last, I hope this article may have helped you in some ways. Thank You For Reading!
Related Articles You May Like