Song thrush "Turdus", is the Latin for "thrush", and the specific epithet refers to a character in Greek mythology, Philomela, who had her tongue cut out, but was changed into a singing bird. Her name is derived from the Ancient Greek "Φιλο" "philo-" ("loving"), and "μέλος" "melos" ("song"). The dialect names "throstle" and "mavis" both mean "thrush", being related to the German "drossel" and French "mauvis" respectively. "Throstle" dates back to at least the fourteenth century and was used by Chaucer in the "Parliament of Fowls". Mavis is derived via Middle English "mavys" and Old French "mauvis" from Middle Breton "milhuyt" meaning
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