Song Thrush Magnet – Backyard Heroes

Discover the song thrush (Turdus philomelos), one of Europe's most musical and fascinating garden birds. With its rich, repetitive song — each motif repeated two to four times before the next begins — the song thrush is the virtuoso of the European garden. But the song thrush is more than a singer: it is also an ingenious hunter that picks up snails and smashes them forcefully against a fixed stone — its personal anvil — to get to the soft body. A behaviour so unique that it makes the song thrush one of Europe's most remarkable garden birds.

This premium magnet features stunning wildlife photography that captures the characteristic spotted breast and vivid expression of this beloved but declining garden bird.

Conservation Status: Least Concern (but rapidly declining)

• Population: Sharply declined in Europe — loss of snails and snail habitat as primary cause
• Habitat: Gardens, parks, forests, and forest edges throughout Europe
• Greatest Threats: Slug pellets and pesticide use, loss of leaf litter and moist areas
• Ecological Role: Specialist in snail and slug control; seed disperser of berry bushes
• Special Feature: Uses a fixed stone as an anvil to smash snails — a tool-use unique among European garden birds

Fascinating Facts:

• The song thrush repeats each song motif two to four times — a characteristic that distinguishes it from all other European singers
• It uses a fixed stone as an anvil to smash snails — one of the few examples of tool-use among European garden birds
• Song thrushes build nests with a smooth inner lining of mud and plant material — unique among thrushes
• They are one of the earliest singers of the year — sometimes active as early as January in mild weather
• Song thrushes are partially migratory birds — Dutch birds winter in Southern Europe and North Africa
• They can live up to 10 years in the wild

How to attract song thrushes to your garden?

• Leave leaf litter and moist areas for foraging
• Plant berry bushes such as holly, ivy, and cotoneaster
• Place flat stones as "anvils" for smashing snails
• Create dense hedges and shrubs for nesting opportunities
• Avoid slug pellets — song thrushes need slugs and snails

Read our complete rewilding guide for your garden →

We partner with organizations that make a real, measurable contribution to wildlife protection. Together, we are building a community of wildlife ambassadors — one magnet at a time.

With the purchase of this magnet, we donate €2.00 to wildlife conservation – allowing you to directly contribute to the preservation of the song thrush and its habitat.

Part of our Backyard Heroes collection — transform your fridge into a tribute to the virtuoso singer and ingenious hunter of the European garden.