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 smash snails. The nestlings are mainly fed on animal food such as worms, slugs, snails and insect larvae. The grove Snail ("Cepaea nemoralis") is regularly eaten by the song thrush, and its polymorphic shell patterns have been suggested as evolutionary responses to reduce predation; however, song thrushes may not be the only selective force involved. The song thrush has an extensive range, estimated at 10 million square kilometres (3.8 million square miles), and a large population, with an estimated 40 to 71 million individuals in Europe alone. In the western Palaearctic, there is evidence of population decline, but at a