40. Raymond Ching b. 1939
Song Thrush
Watercolour
66.5 x 50.5 cm
Signed
est. $20,000 - 30,000
Fetched $18,000
Relative Size: Song Thrush
Relative size

Illustrated p. 19 Raymond Ching, The Bird Paintings with text by David Snow, A H Chisholm & M F Soper William Collins Sons & Company Limited St James Palace, London 1978

The dapper Song Thrush with khaki brown back, cleanly spotted underparts and rather long pale legs, is a familiar bird of the wooded parts of Europe and western Asia. Yet the Song Thrush is not a typical member of its family or genus; its song, feeding habits and nest are all in some way unusual and striking. Evidently it was highly prized by the early settlers of Australia and New Zealand, for it was introduced into both countries in the 1860s. It spread all over New Zealand, but the hotter and drier conditions of Australia suited it less well and it is confined to a limited area around Melbourne.

Browning associated the month of May with the voice of "the wise thrush, who sings each song twice over". In fact the Song Thrush often sings its phrases more than twice over - often three or four times. But no other thrush composes its song of such varied phrases so exactly repeated, some loud and clear and some almost whispered, some intricate and some simple, separated by gaps long enough to give the listener the impression that the bird is pausing to decide which phrase to utter next. Though May is a good month for thrush song, it can be heard for most of the year except late summer and early autumn. The song, like that of most other birds, is mainly a proclamation of ownership of territory. Many Song Thrushes remain attached to their territory all year round; but some migrate, especially from the colder parts of the range, and move south and southwest to the Mediterranean area and the Middle East.

A great eater of earthworms, like many other thrushes, the Song Thrush also exploits another source of animal food denied to its relatives. It has the instinctive ability to smash open snail shells, gripping them by the lip of the aperture and striking them sharply against a stone or some other hard surface. With access to an alternative and often abundant food, Song Thrushes are less affected than Blackbirds by prolonged droughts which cause earthworms to retreat deep into the soil; but in the modern world this unique behaviour is often dangerous, for roads make good "anvils" for snails found in adjacent hedges and many feeding thrushes are killed by cars.

Text: Raymond Ching, The Bird Paintings with text by David Snow, A H Chisholm & M F Soper William Collins Sons & Company Limited St James Palace, London 1978

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