The Mistle Thrush is a large-sized member of the Thrush family and can be found throughout the country in woodlands, parks, meadows, heaths and moors. It is sometimes known as the Missel Thrush. Mistle Thrushes like to sing lots of different songs with pauses between their songs. They are also known as ‘Stormcocks’ because they will continue to sing out loud even if the weather is very bad and stormy.

The Mistle Thrush is a stocky-looking bird with a fat belly. It can easily be recognised by its cream coloured breast, tummy and sides that have dark brown spots all over. The spots don’t seem to have any set pattern. It also has grey-brown coloured feathers on the top and a pale grey-brown face. It has a relatively short black-brown beak and a long grey-brown tail.

Mistle Thrushes like to spend a lot of time on the ground looking for food such as beetles, worms, slugs and snails. When these birds are on the ground, they seem to hop for a short distance and then stop. They stop very straight and erect which makes them look very proud indeed. Mistle Thrushes also love to eat berries from hawthorn and holly trees.