A report on Redwing and Mistle thrush

Head of T. i. coburni in Iceland
In Kazakhstan
Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden
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Nests are often constructed on the ground.
Male (left) passing earthworms to female on nest
A spectrogram showing an example of the song structure of a Redwing in Iceland. Terminology is applied.
The mistle thrush derives its English and scientific names from mistletoe, a favourite food.
A castor bean tick swollen with the blood of its host
Mistle Thrush and Alpine Chough by Giovanni da Udine

Although two European thrushes, the song thrush and mistle thrush, are early offshoots from the Eurasian lineage of Turdus thrushes after they spread north from Africa, the redwing is descended from ancestors that had colonised the Caribbean islands from Africa and subsequently reached Europe from there.

- Redwing

It forages within its breeding habitat and in open fields, sometimes sharing these feeding areas with redwings or fieldfares.

- Mistle thrush

2 related topics with Alpha

Overall

Song thrush

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Thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic.

Thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic.

A parent feeding chicks in their nest in a New Zealand garden
A Song Thrush in Germany
In flight
Juvenile in New Zealand
Juvenile in a forest near Dombaih, Russia (Caucasus Mountains)
Three eggs in a nest
Broken shells of grove snails on an 'anvil'
In New Zealand
Song thrush in Slovenia

A molecular study indicated that the song thrush's closest relatives are the similarly plumaged mistle thrush (T. viscivorus) and Chinese thrush (T. mupinensis); these three species are early offshoots from the Eurasian lineage of Turdus thrushes after they spread north from Africa.

The most similar European thrush species is the redwing (T. iliacus), but that bird has a strong white supercilium, red flanks, and shows a red underwing in flight.

Fieldfare

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Member of the thrush family Turdidae.

Member of the thrush family Turdidae.

Fieldfares in winter
Berries form an important part of the winter diet
Fieldfare eating worms
Fieldfare in front of the window
Eggs, Collection Museum Wiesbaden, Germany
thumb|left|Nest and chicks

Migrating birds and wintering birds often form large flocks, often in the company of redwings.

Although two European thrushes, the song thrush and mistle thrush, are early offshoots from the Eurasian lineage of Turdus thrushes after they spread north from Africa, the fieldfare is descended from ancestors that had colonised the Caribbean islands from Africa and subsequently reached Europe from there.