Il Thrush: In this article we will describe the thrush in all its aspects concerning it: biology, nutrition, habitat and phenology of migrations. Knowing a huntable species and its habits allows its more efficient management and conservation in the territory.
The song thrush, scientific name Turdus philomelos according to the classification made by CL Brehm in 1831, is a bird of the Turdidae family.
The thrush is present in most of northern Europe, especially in France, United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Germany, Russia and the Italian Alps, in the summer period where it nests, while it spends the winter period in the Mediterranean regions, in particular in Italy, Spain, Croatia, Greece and North Africa.
In our country its presence is recorded at the beginning of early October until the end of March. A large number of specimens have been identified in the hilly areas of the central south, where it feeds mainly on olives and berries.
Its ideal habitat is coniferous woods, countryside planted with orchards, gardens, tree-lined squares, olive groves, vineyards and Mediterranean scrub.
The thrush's diet consists essentially of various types of insects, acorns, small seeds and fruit of which it is very greedy, and for this reason it tends to reach the plains as far as the city to get food.
From an aesthetic point of view it is similar to the tordela, from which it differs in that it is much smaller in size. In fact, the thrush reaches 22 cm in length, 75 grams in weight and has a chamois-colored underwing (white in the tordela), with a light brown tail and back, light-colored hips and chest, almost white. , with the classic black dots of thrushes, which generally do not touch the belly unlike the tordela. This bird can easily be confused with the Redwing of the same size, from which it is distinguished not only by the different habits but also by the lighter colors in the under-wing and by the black dots distributed in a more homogeneous way and by the presence, in the pebble, of a pronounced clear eyebrow, as well as by the sound emitted: the song thrush emits a dry and metallic sound, called zizzo, unique of its kind, with very harmonious shades.
The consistency of the breeding population in Europe is estimated at over 20.000.000 pairs. This population remained numerically stable between 1970 and 1990, but in the following decade there was a reduction in the size of the population present in Germany, the latter offset by an increase recorded for the two key nuclei present in France and Norway. The overall consistency has therefore remained stable and, therefore, the species is, at present, considered in a good state of conservation.
In our country the song thrush it is a breeding species in the summer in the Alps, more scarce and localized in the Apennines, partially sedentary, with an estimated total population of 100.000-300.000 pairs with a tendency to stability or local increases.
Thrushes reach Italy regularly presenting themselves with migratory and wintering populations from other European countries. A negative data concerns the lack of numerical estimates of the quotas in transit and wintering in Italy, due to the objective difficulties in detecting small migratory passerines on a large geographical scale.
The reproduction period identified in Italy in the ORNIS document of the European Commission goes from the reproductive phenology to the reproduction period, the latter defined for Italy in the ORNIS document of the European Commission, which is included from the first decade of March to the second ten days of August.
The post-reproductive migration is carried out by the thrush between mid-September and November, with peaks between the end of September and the beginning of November and in the first two decades of October. The pre-breeding migration begins as early as January and continues until April, with a peak between February and March. The seasonal distribution of the overall sample of recaptures of ringed specimens abroad, considers the first post-breeding reports in the month of August.
However, it is from the end of September that the contingents of migrants begin to reach our country and the intensity of the movements increases in October, with a peak of reports reached in the third decade of this last month. Also in the first ten days of November there are still very high frequencies, after which the recapture begins to decrease, and then returns to grow already from the third decade of December and then in January, concomitantly with the beginning of the return movements through the our country.
In this regard, there is a seasonal maximum in the last ten days of the month and in the first of February. Then follows a progressive decline, up to the most advanced and final stages of the spring migration. The phenology of migration appears to be particularly diversified on a regional basis, with the arrival dates of autumn migrants much postponed in the southern regions and departure dates towards the north significantly earlier.
The pre-nuptial migration period defined for Italy according to the ORNIS document of the European Commission is between the second ten days of January and the second ten days of April.
In Italy, individuals from a very large geographical area have been reported, but the two main areas of origin are located in Eastern Europe, in this case in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Russia, and directly to the north of Italy, i.e. in Germany and Swiss. Subjects from the Balkan area and, even further east, from sites located in Central Asia were also reported.
Some studies have confirmed that the role of the Scandinavian countries has become less important, from which many Song Thrushes migrate to the South-West, passing in northern latitudes compared to Italy.
There are, however, some conservation problems associated with hunting. The game bag data obtained through questionnaires sent by the INFS (today ISPRA) to all the regional hunting offices clearly highlight how the Song Thrush is by far the most hunted species in Italy, in terms of both number and slaughtered animals. .
Although the data acquired are partial, since the data of the hunting cards are not collected and analyzed in all hunting areas, there is an estimated sampling of several tens of millions of individuals per year. In the province of Brescia alone, for example, from 400.000 to 600.000 are legally culled every year song thrushes.
The hunting period currently provided for by national legislation, which is between the third Sunday of September and January 31, does not coincide with the indications contained in the ORNIS document of the European Commission, which provide for an early closure on January 10.
The way thrush hunting is practiced increases the risk of involuntary killing of protected species. In the case of the Song Thrush, the protected species that can be killed more easily by mistake is the Tordela Turdus viscivorus.
Furthermore, in order to guarantee the compatibility of the collection, monitoring activities of breeding, migratory and wintering populations should be promoted and the collection and analysis of information on culled animals should be developed in an adequate manner from all points of view. .