THE THRUSH FAMILY 



[OKDER : Pdsseriformes. FAMILY : Tiirdidce. SUBFAMILY : Turdinct] 

 PRELIMINARY CLASSIFIED NOTES 



[F. C. B. JOURDAIN. F. B. KIRKMAN. W. P. PYCRAFT. A. L. THOMSON] 



MISTLE-THRUSH [Turdus viscivorus, Linnaeus. Missel- thrush, 

 storm-cock, thrice-cock, holm-thrush, holm-screech, screamer. French, 

 draine ; German, Mistel-drossel ; Italian, tordela], 



I. Description. The adult may be distinguished at once by its large size 

 and the large, transversely oval spots of black which cover the whole of the breast 

 and flanks, no other adult British thrush having spotted flanks, while a varying 

 number of the tail feathers, save only the middle pair, have a white spot at the 

 tip of the inner web, often conspicuous during flight. (PI. 34.) Length 10'5 in. 

 [267 mm.]. The upper surface is of a greyish or ash-brown colour passing into 

 ochreous yellow on the rump : while the ground colour of the under surface is 

 of a golden buff, fading, on the lower part of the abdomen, into white. The super- 

 ciliary streak is white, and extends forwards to the lores : the under tail-coverts 

 and the median wing-coverts are tipped with white. On the throat and neck the 

 spots are fan-shaped. The sides of the head are mottled with black. The sexes 

 are alike. The fledgling differs from the adult in that the spots on the breast 

 are relatively smaller and rounder, while the upper surface is mottled and streaked 

 with buff and black on a ground of ochreous brown. Its crown feathers are of a 

 greyish brown colour, and each bears a large central spot of buff : on the mid-crown 

 feathers this spot is bounded distally by a V-shaped border of black. The inter- 

 scapulars are of an ochreous brown, broadly tipped black, and with the median 

 portion of the feather buff : the scapulars differ in having the buff area linguiform 

 and narrowly margined with black. As this area extends almost the whole length 

 of the feather, the black portion of the distal end of the buff area forms also the tip 



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