Song Thrush

The introduced song thrush, or manu-kai-hua-rākau, is a familiar garden bird with a powerful, repetitive song. It has a warm brown back and cream breast marked with dark arrowhead-shaped spots; it is smaller and more heavily spotted below than a female blackbird.

It is widespread through mainland New Zealand and on several offshore islands in wooded and settled habitats. It searches lawns and leaf litter for earthworms, insects and snails, often smashing snail shells on a favoured hard surface; song phrases are repeated several times.

Listen from winter through summer in gardens, parks and farmland, especially around dawn.