Mistle Thrush?

[Neil]

I have uploaded two photos the links are below. I am not sure if they are of a Mistle or a Song Thrush? I am never sure as I see so few of them. Can someone educate me please.
Neil.

[natureguy]

Hi Neil are they both of the same bird? to me the first looks like a mistle thrush and the second a song thrush.

[Wild-Woman]

1.I would say a Mistle Thrush.
2. Song Thrush.

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by Wild-Woman

1.I would say a Mistle Thrush.
2. Song Thrush.

Agree with these IDs.

[Green Man]

I agree - 1.Mistle thrush and 2.song thrush

[sunnydale]

Just to add....they are lovely shots Neil, especially to get them in the snow

[Neil]

Originally Posted by natureguy

Hi Neil are they both of the same bird? to me the first looks like a mistle thrush and the second a song thrush.

No two separate photos taken about an hour apart and five hundred meters away from each other. I can not tell the difference in the type of bird.


Neil

[RobinP]

Me neither, I tend to go on size with these thrushes, both look like Song Thrush to me but I am willing to be corrected.

[Neil]

Thank you all for the replies. I will just have to have a closer look and see if I can differentiate one from the other.

Thanks again Neil.

[GuyF]

Originally Posted by Neil

Thank you all for the replies. I will just have to have a closer look and see if I can differentiate one from the other.

Thanks again Neil.

Well done on capturing both species so nicely, they can be very tricky to get good shots of!

Some people use the spots to try and separate the two species, the spots on Mistle Thrushes are very round, especially lower down the breast, whereas most of the spots on a Song Thrush are arrow-shaped.
Overall though Mistle Thrushes look larger and paler than Song Thrushes. They can look quite grey whereas Song Thrushes tend to be a warm brown colour. Mistles also have pale edgings to some of their wing feathers and paler cheeks, whereas Song Thrushes are a much more uniform brown colour over the wings and head. When seen on the ground, Mistle Thrushes often stand very upright and can look quite tall, while Song Thrushes always look dumpier to me.

I hope some of this will help you when trying to separate them in the future,
Guy