looduskalender.ee

The thrushes are here and more are coming. Identifying birds with rather similar exteriors is quite tricky to begin with. So we will focus on the environments where they live, described below.

http://www.looduskalender.ee/en/node/9880

 

Mistle thrush.

 

Mistle thrush

Hoburästas

Turdus viscivorus

 

 

The favourite habitat of mistle thrushes is dry and light PINE FORESTS. Their song reminds of that of the blackbird but it is simpler and with a smaller ranger. They begin singing in the morning up to an hour before sunrise and in the evening usually fall silent already before sunset. The mistle thrush arrived in Estonia in the beginning of April, singing ends in the end of June.

 

Fieldfare.

 

Fieldfare

Hallrästas

Turdus pilaris

 

The chatter of a fieldfare flying past:

 

 

The fieldfare is probably best known to urban people.. In PARKS and CEMETERIES  it can often be seen nesting in quite big groups. The doings of fieldfares are nearly always accompanied by almost non-stop chatter. Fieldfares are especially loud when a bird of prey happens to pass their nesting place.

 

Song thrush.

 

Song thrush

Laulurästas

Turdus philomelos

 

The song illustration below was recorded in a spruce forest that seemed like an open-air cathedral, near Roiu in Tartumaa:

 

 

The resounding song of the song thrush consists of a variety of whistles, each repeated 2-5 times. It is a good feature for distinguishing it from other thrushes. At the same time its song is particularly expressive, with a broad register and emphasizing different phrases. The song thrush starts its song in the dark, up to 2 hours before sunrise as the first of forest birds. In daytime singing occurs less often, becoming more lively again at sunset, and lasting up to two hours after sunset. The song thrush is a bird of the forests, preferring SPRUCE FORESTS for living environment.