The Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) is Sweden's largest thrush, a large, stately bird that is often among the very first to sing each year, sometimes as early as February. It measures 26–29 cm, has a wingspan of 42–48 cm and weighs 100–140 grams, with grey-brown upperparts and white underparts marked by large, round, clearly separated black spots — more rounded and less drop-shaped than those of the Song Thrush. The tail is long with pale white corners that flash in flight, along with a white underwing, and the bird carries itself upright with a powerful, slightly undulating flight.
Its most common call is a hard, dry, rattling "trrrr", while the song is fluting and reminiscent of the Song Thrush's but more monotonous and mournful, with shorter phrases, often delivered from a high treetop even in cold, windy weather early in spring. The scientific name viscivorus means "mistletoe-eater", a nod to the bird's fondness for mistletoe berries, which it helps spread between trees. The Mistle Thrush breeds throughout Sweden except on the bare mountains, favouring coniferous and mixed forest and open woodland with tall trees, with a population estimated at 100,000–200,000 pairs. It breeds very early, often already in March, building a sturdy cup nest in a tree fork; the female lays around 4 eggs, and the species can manage two broods in a good spring, defending the nest aggressively against both raptors and crows. As a short-distance migrant, most birds head to western and southern Europe for winter, though some remain in southern Sweden, especially in mild years with a good berry crop. In summer it feeds on earthworms, insects and larvae taken on open ground, switching in autumn and winter to berries — mistletoe, rowan and juniper — with individual birds sometimes defending a berry-laden tree stubbornly against rival thrushes.
Read about this species in Swedish →