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
Abyssinian ground thrush Immature birds tend to be paler and duller than the adults. They measure 19–20 cm in length and weigh 43–65g. The contact call of the Abyssinian ground thrush is a high pitched "tseep", the song is a typical thrush like melodious series of whistled phrases rendered in Sinclair & Ryan as "chee-cheeleeroo-chruup". There are six currently recognised subspecies of Abyssinian ground thrush and they are listed below with their distributions: The Abyssinian ground thrush occurs in the undergrowth of evergreen montane forest in high rainfall regions between 1800m and 3300m, mostly above 2500m, although occasionally found lower. May also occur