Getting noticed

Song thrushes have been in full voice for several weeks now, as have mistle thrushes, blackbirds, robins and dunnocks. As the dawn chorus in all its rich complexity is still a way off, they really stand out. So, it’s the ideal time to learn these common songs. A good way of doing this is to ascribe characters to each one. “Whereas the blackbird and robin are musical,” writes Stephen Moss in 2017’s Wonderland, “the song thrush is chatty and loquacious, almost as if he is having a good gossip.”

TOP TIP Vast online library of birdsong: xeno-canto.org