Song Thrush: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Birds of Europe · day 6 of 7

Five facts

1. It cracks snails open by bashing them against a favourite stone, which it uses like an anvil.
2. It sings each musical phrase two to four times in a row. For its weight, it has one of the loudest voices of any bird.
3. A male can know over 100 phrases, many learned from his parents and neighbours. Some even imitate telephones.
4. The female lays four or five shiny, bright blue eggs dotted with a few black or purple specks.
5. It can usually tell a cuckoo's egg from its own. Thrushes in New Zealand, with no cuckoos, have kept this skill for 130 years.

The quiz

1. What does the song thrush use as an anvil to crack snails?

• A tree stump
• A favourite stone (correct)
• Its own nest
• A hard nut

It breaks snail shells on a favourite stone.

2. How many times does it usually repeat each phrase of its song?

• Never: each is sung once
• Twenty to thirty times
• Exactly ten times
• Two to four times (correct)

Its musical phrases are repeated two to four times.

3. How many phrases can a male song thrush know?

• At most 2
• At most 5
• More than 100 (correct)
• At most 12

One male can know over 100 different phrases.

4. What do song thrush eggs look like?

• Bright glossy blue with a few dark specks (correct)
• Pure white
• Dull brown
• Green with red stripes

The eggs are bright glossy blue, lightly spotted black or purple.

5. What skill have song thrushes in New Zealand kept for 130 years?

• Building nests on water
• Recognising cuckoo eggs (correct)
• Catching fish
• Singing only at night

Even without cuckoos there, they still recognise and reject cuckoo eggs.

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