Bird Guide

American Robin vs Song Thrush

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

American Robin

Turdus migratorius

Medium79 gForest

The eastern subspecies (T. m. migratorius) is 23 to 28 cm (9.1 to 11.0 in) long with a wingspan ranging from 31 to 41 cm (12 to 16 in), with similar size ranges across all subspecies. The species averages about 77 g (2.7 oz) in weight, with males ranging from 72 to 94 g (2.5 to 3.3 oz) and females ranging from 59 to 91 g (2.1 to 3.2 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 11.5 to 14.5 cm (4.5 to 5.7 in), the culmen is 1.8 to 2.2 cm (0.71 to 0.87 in) and the tarsus is 2.9 to 3.3 cm (1.1 to 1.3 in). The head varies from jet black to gray, with white eye arcs and white supercilia. Voice: The male, as with many thrushes, has a complex and almost continuous song. It is commonly described as a cheery carol, made up of discrete units, often repeated, and spliced together into a string with brief pauses in between. The song varies regionally, and its style varies by the time of day.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Anonymous · CC0
Photo: PierreSelim · CC BY 3.0
Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)

Song Thrush

Turdus philomelos

Medium68 gForest

The song thrush (as represented by the nominate subspecies T. p. philomelos) is 20 to 23.5 centimetres (7+3⁄4 to 9+1⁄4 inches) in length and weighs 50 to 107 grams (1+3⁄4 to 3+3⁄4 ounces). The sexes are similar, with plain brown backs and neatly black-spotted cream or yellow-buff underparts, becoming paler on the belly. The underwing is warm yellow, the bill is yellowish and the legs and feet are pink. The upperparts of this species become colder in tone from west to east across the breeding range from Sweden to Siberia.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Philippe_Grange · CC0
Photo: Aleksey Shumkov · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: American Robin and Song Thrush.