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snail. stone. thwack. that's my whole business plan.

Song thrush says

Bird 24 of 30 · video, 39:20

Song thrush

Turdus philomelos

The garden's songster: repeated musical phrases, spotted breast, a snail-smashing stone and a worrying decline.

  • Medium, 75 g
  • Some come and go
  • Hedge or shrub
  • On the ground or lawn
  • In a hedge or shrub
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About the song thrush

Marks and dots

Tap a numbered dot, or a name in the list.

From egg to adult

  1. Egg

    Eggs4 eggsBTOthe video says 3–6 eggs

    Hatch after14 days BTO

  2. Chick in the nest

    In the nest for14 days video, BTO agrees

  3. Young bird

    The video does not describe young song thrushes.

    Read about the young

  4. Adult

    Spotted below; smaller than a mistle thrush

    Broods a yearup to 3 broods video, BTO agrees

BTO averages: 14 days incubating the eggs, then 14 days in the nest. Averages across nest records, so the figures above can differ a little.

At the table

  • snails, cracked on a stone

A definite taste for snails, which a song thrush cracks open on a convenient stone used as an anvil. The video wonders whether slug pellets containing metaldehyde could also be poisoning the thrush, one step further up the food chain. That is a worry and not a finding.

Through the year

Aroundmonths you can see it
AroundYou can see the song thrush all year round. That is what the video says.ArrivingWinter visitors from northern Europe (October to November). That is from the video.
First eggslaid, from the BTO
First eggsThe song thrush lays its first eggs between 21 March and 21 June, and on average the first egg comes on 21 April. These dates are from the BTO, the British Trust for Ornithology.Average first eggThe average first egg is laid on 21 April (BTO).
Chicks leavethe nest, worked out
Chicks leave the nestThe first chicks fly from the nest between 18 April and 20 July. We worked this out, it was not recorded: the BTO's first-egg dates, plus 14 days for the eggs to hatch and 13.5–15 days for the chicks to leave the nest.

Song thrush: around Jan to Dec; winter visitors from northern Europe, Oct to Nov; first eggs laid 21 Mar to 21 Jun, average 21 Apr (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 18 Apr to 20 Jul (worked out from BTO). Late autumn is read as October to November.

What to know about the song 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.

The song thrush part of “British Birds in your Garden” by The Great British Channel, 39:20 to 40:52. Press play and it runs in YouTube's own player, with its captions and controls. Nothing from YouTube loads until you do, and after that YouTube can see your address. Watch it on YouTube instead.

What to look for

Similar to the mistle thrush, but smaller, with less dense spotting on the underparts.

checked, BTO video only

Male and female

The video does not say whether male and female song thrushes look different.

not in the video

The young

The video does not describe young song thrushes.

not in the video

Song and call

The melodious song can be heard pretty much all year, and the distinctive repetition of musical phrases identifies the bird at once. BTO calls it a consummate singer, often heard at first light and at dusk.

BTO only video only

Nest

A mud, cup-shaped nest, usually low down in a tree or a hedge. Many nests fall to predators such as the much-villainised magpie.

video only

Feeding

A definite taste for snails, which a song thrush cracks open on a convenient stone used as an anvil. The video wonders whether slug pellets containing metaldehyde could also be poisoning the thrush, one step further up the food chain. That is a worry and not a finding.

checked, BTO video only

Staying or leaving

BTO says song thrushes breed throughout Britain and Ireland, and that birds from northern Europe arrive in late autumn. Some stay for the winter and some go on as far as North Africa. The video does not mention this.

BTO only

In the garden

In decline in Britain. Changes in farming are blamed by many, but the video says the cause may be closer to home. The loss of its song would be catastrophic.

checked, BTO video only

Sources and checks

Where every fact about the song thrush came from

17 claims about the song thrush: 5 checked, 6 from the video only,1 differ, 5 from a source only. How the grades work

Claim, in our wordsVideo timeGradeWhat the source says
The song thrush is smaller than the mistle thrush.39:30 checkedBTO, read 2026-10-05BTO's adult weights are 75 g for the song thrush and 125.9 g for the mistle thrush.
Its spotting on the underparts is less dense.39:35 video only
The melodious song can be heard pretty much all year round, and the distinctive repetition of musical phrases identifies it.39:20 video only
BTO says the song thrush is a consummate singer, often heard at first light and at dusk.source only source onlyBTO, read 2026-10-05BTO's introduction to the species.
Song thrushes have a taste for snails, often using a stone as an anvil to crack them open.39:54 checkedBTO, read 2026-10-05BTO says it hits snails against a rock to break the shell.
Slug pellets containing metaldehyde could also be poisoning the song thrush, one step up the food chain.40:02 video onlyA suggestion in the video, not a finding. BTO's page does not mention it.
The species is in decline in Britain; many suspect changes in farming, but the cause may lie closer to home.39:41 checkedBTO, read 2026-10-05BTO says the population fell steeply in the 1970s and 1980s, with signs of a slight recovery since.
Many nests fall to predators such as the much-vilified magpie.40:14 video only
The decline is worrying on an environmental scale, and the loss of its beautiful song would be catastrophic.40:34 video only
BTO says song thrushes breed throughout Britain and Ireland, and that birds from northern Europe arrive in late autumn; some stay and some go on as far as North Africa.source only source onlyBTO, read 2026-10-05BTO's introduction to the species.
Nests are mud, cup-shaped, usually low down in a tree or a hedge.40:22 video only
There are often as many as three broods raised each year.video: up to 3 broods40:18 checkedBTO, read 2026-10-05: 2–3 broods (4 exceptionally) (BTO typical)up to 3 sits between BTO's typical top (3) and the most BTO records (4)
Three to six eggs.video: 3–6 eggs40:22differsBTO, read 2026-10-05: 4 eggs (BTO typical)outside BTO's typical range of 4, though inside the 2–7 BTO has observed
Two weeks after hatching the chicks leave the nest.video: 14 days40:31 checkedBTO, read 2026-10-05: 13.5–15 days (BTO typical)inside BTO's typical range of 13.5–15
Adult weight, from ringing records: 75 g, adult average.source only source onlyBTO, read 2026-10-05: 75 g, adult average
Timing of the first clutch: first eggs laid around 21 Apr (21 Mar-21 Jun).source only source onlyBTO, read 2026-10-05: first eggs laid around 21 Apr (21 Mar-21 Jun)
Incubation takes 14 days (BTO typical).source only source onlyBTO, read 2026-10-05: 14 days (BTO typical)

Written in our own words after “British Birds in your Garden” by The Great British Channel, where the song thrush starts at 39:20.Numbers are checked against the BTO's page for the song thrush, read on 5 October 2026. We are not connected to the channel or to the BTO.

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