Song thrush "thrush." Mavis (Μαβής) can also mean "purple" in Greek. A recent molecular study indicates that the song thrush's closest relatives are the similarly plumaged mistle thrush ("T. viscivorus") and Chinese thrush ("T. mupinensis"); these three species are early offshoots from the lineage of "Turdus" thrushes before they diversified and spread across the globe, and hence are less closely related to other European thrush species such as the blackbird ("T. merula"). The song thrush has three subspecies, with the nominate subspecies, "T. p. philomelos", covering the majority of the species' range. "T. p. hebridensis", described by British ornithologist William Eagle Clarke
Swainson's thrush as nuclear β-fibrinogen intron 7 sequence data shows that Swainson's thrush is the most ancient North American species of its genus; it is not closely related to other "Catharus" and the outward similarities with the other North American species are due to convergent evolution. Swainson's thrush Swainson's thrush ("Catharus ustulatus"), also called olive-backed thrush, is a medium-sized thrush. It is a member of genus "Catharus" and is typical of it in terms of its subdued coloration and beautiful voice. Swainson's thrush was named after William Swainson, an English ornithologist. The genus name "Catharus" comes from the Ancient Greek "katharos", "pure