Song thrush thrush recognizes the cuckoo's non-mimetic eggs. However, the song thrush does not demonstrate the same aggression toward the adult cuckoo that is shown by the blackbird. The introduced birds in New Zealand, where the cuckoo does not occur, have, over the past 130 years, retained the ability to recognise and reject non-mimetic eggs. Adult birds may be killed by cats, little owls and sparrowhawks, and eggs and nestlings are taken by magpies, jays, and, where present, grey squirrels. As with other passerine birds, parasites are common, and include endoparasites, such as the nematode "Splendidofilaria (Avifilaria) mavis" whose specific name "mavis"
The Darkling Thrush The Darkling Thrush "The Darkling Thrush" is a poem by Thomas Hardy. Originally titled ""By the Century's Deathbed, 1900", it was published on 29 December 1900 in "The Graphic". A deleted '1899' on the poem's manuscript suggests that it may have been written the year before. It was later included in a collection entitled "Poems of the Past and the Present" (1901). The first stanzas open with a description of the dreary, bleak winter landscape, but the melancholy tone is transformed by the bright, optimistic singing of "an aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small." In the end, the speaker concludes