L 20-22 cm. Breeds in lush woodland, parks and wellvegetated gardens. N populations migratory, winter in W and S Europe. Often rather tame. Food snails, insects, worms. Nest, often well concealed in e.g. ivy, hedge, on bank, a moss-clad bowl with smooth grey interior (of clay and decayed wood).
IDENTIFICATION: Small and rather compact, fairly short-tailed. Fast, slightly jerky flight. Brown above, and yellowish-white or white below, densely sprinkled with black spots (cf. Mistle Thrush). Underwing rusty-buff, sometimes perceptible in flight. Often has slightly warmer ochre tone on flanks next to wing-edge (and on breast), but never rusty-red like Redwing, and lacks latter’s white head-stripes. Sexes alike.
VOICE: Call a rather discreet, fine, sharp ‘zit’ (not so hard and clicking as Robin’s, and a little softer than Rustic Bunting’s). Alarm an excited series of ‘electrical’ scolding sounds, ‘tix-ix-ix-ix-ix-...’ (sharper, higher-pitched than Blackbird). Song loud and proclaiming, sounds ‘cocksure’ and ‘dogmatic’; strongly varied, often squeaky and shrill cascades of notes, pauses few and very brief; characteristic is recurring repetitions 2-4 times of same group of notes, e.g. ‘kücklivi kückli2vi, tixi tixi tixi, pii-eh, trrü-trrü-trrü tixifix, chüchü- chü, ko-ku-kiklix ko-ku-kiklix, ...’.
