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
Song thrush include parks, gardens, coniferous and deciduous woodland and hedgerows. Birds of the nominate subspecies were introduced to New Zealand and Australia by acclimatisation societies between 1860 and 1880, apparently for purely sentimental reasons. In New Zealand, where it was introduced on both the main islands, the song thrush quickly established itself and spread to surrounding islands such as the Kermadecs, Chatham and Auckland Islands. Although it is common and widespread in New Zealand, in Australia only a small population survives around Melbourne. In New Zealand, there appears to be a limited detrimental effect on some invertebrates due to predation by