stormcock reporting for duty. a gale is my best material.
Mistle thrush says
Bird 11 of 30 · video, 19:50
Mistle thrush
Turdus viscivorus
The biggest British thrush: boldly spotted, grey, wary and fierce with anything that goes near its nest.
- Medium, 125.9 g
- Stays all year
- High in a tree
- On the ground or lawn
- In a tree
About the mistle thrush
Marks and dots
Tap a numbered dot, or a name in the list.
White underparts with bold black spotting well down the flanks and belly.
Greyer than a song thrush.
In flight, the outer tail feathers show white tips.
From egg to adult
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Egg
Eggs4 eggs BTO
Hatch after15–16 days BTO
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Chick in the nest
In the nest forabout 14 days video, BTO agrees
3–5 young per brood video only
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Young bird
The video does not describe young mistle thrushes.
Adult
White below, bold black spots, grey above
Broods a year2 broods video, BTO agrees
BTO averages: 15 days incubating the eggs, then 15 days in the nest. Averages across nest records, so the figures above can differ a little.
At the table
- autumn berries
- larvae and invertebrates
In autumn a plentiful berry crop brings family groups together to make the most of it. At other times they prefer larvae and invertebrates.
Through the year
Mistle thrush: around Jan to Dec; nesting can start, Feb; berry crop: family groups gather, Sep to Nov; first eggs laid 17 Mar to 22 May, average 7 Apr (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 14 Apr to 23 Jun (worked out from BTO).
What to know about the mistle thrush
Eight short notes in our own words. Each chip says what the note stands on, and links to its row in the table below.
What to look for
The largest resident British thrush: white underparts with bold black spots well down the flanks and belly. In flight you see white wing linings and white tips on the outer tail feathers. It is greyer than a song thrush, and wary.
Male and female
The video does not say whether male and female mistle thrushes look different.
not in the video
The young
The video does not describe young mistle thrushes.
not in the video
Song and call
A strident song sung from the treetops in appalling weather, which is how it earned the name stormcock. The alarm call sounds just like a football supporter's rattle.
Nest
Nesting is early, sometimes as soon as February. The nest is large and cup-shaped, often decorated with old rubbish such as baling twine, and found high up in trees. If the nest is threatened, the bird can be very aggressive and will attack intruders of any size.
Feeding
In autumn a plentiful berry crop brings family groups together to make the most of it. At other times they prefer larvae and invertebrates.
Staying or leaving
The video says a familiar countryside sight once breeding is over. BTO says the mistle thrush is found throughout Britain and Ireland except the Northern and Western Isles.
In the garden
More of a country bird, but a handsome one. It is on the UK Red List now, and BTO says nobody is sure why it has declined.
Sources and checks
Where every fact about the mistle thrush came from
19 claims about the mistle thrush: 4 checked, 9 from the video only,0 differ, 6 from a source only. How the grades work
| Claim, in our words | Video time | Grade | What the source says |
|---|---|---|---|
| White underparts with bold black spotting well down along the flanks and belly. | 19:50 | video only | |
| In flight it shows white wing linings, and the tail has white-tipped outer feathers. | 19:58 | video only | |
| It is greyer than a song thrush and rather more wary. | 20:06 | video only | |
| If its nest is threatened it can be very aggressive, attacking intruders of any size. | 20:08 | video only | |
| It is the largest resident British thrush. | 19:50 | checked | BTO, read 2026-10-05BTO calls it the UK's largest thrush; its 126 g adult weight is above the song thrush's 75 g. |
| In rural communities it earned the name stormcock because it sings its strident song from the treetops in appalling weather. | 20:18 | checked | BTO, read 2026-10-05BTO says the male's song is often performed during or just after wet and windy weather, giving the folk name stormcock. |
| The distinctive alarm call sounds just like a football supporter's rattle. | 20:27 | video only | |
| Nesting is early, sometimes as soon as February; the nest is large and cup-shaped, often decorated with old rubbish such as baling twine, and found high in trees. | 20:35 | video only | |
| Often two broods.video: 2 broods | 20:47 | checked | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 2 broods (3 exceptionally) (BTO typical)inside BTO's typical range of 2 |
| Between three and five youngsters each.video: 3–5 young per brood | 20:49 | video only | The video counts young; BTO counts eggs, so the two are not compared. |
| The young fledge after about a fortnight.video: about 14 days | 20:51 | checked | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 13.5–16.5 days (BTO typical)inside BTO's typical range of 13.5–16.5 |
| A plentiful autumn berry crop brings family groups together; at other times of year they prefer larvae and invertebrates. | 21:02 | video only | |
| Once breeding is complete, mistle thrushes are a familiar sight, particularly in the countryside. | 20:56 | video only | |
| BTO says the mistle thrush is found throughout Britain and Ireland except the Northern and Western Isles. | source only | source only | BTO, read 2026-10-05BTO's introduction to the species. |
| BTO says the mistle thrush has been on the UK Red List since 2015 and the cause of the decline is not fully understood. | source only | source only | BTO, read 2026-10-05BTO's introduction to the species. |
| Adult weight, from ringing records: 125.9 g, adult average. | source only | source only | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 125.9 g, adult average |
| Timing of the first clutch: first eggs laid around 7 Apr (17 Mar-22 May). | source only | source only | BTO, read 2026-10-05: first eggs laid around 7 Apr (17 Mar-22 May) |
| Typical clutch: 4 eggs (BTO typical). | source only | source only | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 4 eggs (BTO typical) |
| Incubation takes 15–16 days (BTO typical). | source only | source only | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 15–16 days (BTO typical) |
Written in our own words after “British Birds in your Garden” by The Great British Channel, where the mistle thrush starts at 19:50.Numbers are checked against the BTO's page for the mistle thrush, read on 5 October 2026. We are not connected to the channel or to the BTO.
More birbs: 30 so far, and more to come
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