Mistle thrush International Union for Conservation of Nature as being of least concern. The mistle thrush was first described by Linnaeus in his "Systema naturae" in 1758 under its current scientific names. "Turdus" is the Latin for "thrush", and "viscivorus", "mistletoe eater", comes from "viscum" "mistletoe" and "vorare", "to devour". The bird's liking for mistletoe berries is also indicated by its English name, "mistle" being an old name for the plant. There are more than 60 species of medium to large thrushes in the genus "Turdus", characterised by rounded heads, longish pointed wings, and usually melodious songs. A mitochondrial DNA study identified
Ritual of oak and mistletoe Ritual of oak and mistletoe The ritual of oak and mistletoe is a Celtic religious ceremony, in which white-clad druids climbed a sacred oak, cut down the mistletoe growing on it, sacrificed two white bulls and used the mistletoe to make an elixir to cure infertility and the effects of poison. The ritual, known from a single passage in Pliny's "Natural History", has helped shape the image of the druid in the popular imagination. The only extant source for this ritual is a passage in the "Natural History" by Roman historian Pliny the Elder, written in the 1st century AD.