I've been trying to find out if female SongThrushes and female Blackbirds sing, and if not, what sort of calls they make. I have tried a variety of questions without success, and would be grateful if anyone can answer my queries.
Hi Susan,
There is some evidence that some female songbirds occasionally sing, especially in tropical areas. However there is little evidence of the full full throated singing of male song birds, especially in North America and Europe.
There is an interesting article which focuses on American eastern bluebirds which suggests that the females sing a subdued song to increase pair bonding and communication(they often remain together over several years).
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/animal-minds/201908/why-do-female-birds-singHowever I do remain rather wary about this article because the author seems to suggest that because ornithology was largely male orientated, the idea of females singing was likely to be dismissed, a rather odd and debatable point as far as I am concerned.
However back to your question. There is no real evidence that female song thrushes sing although one must remember that it is hard to tell the difference between the sexes. Blackbirds(a related species) are much easier as the male is very distinctive. And again, as a general rule, there is no evidence that females sing.
In southern Europe there is a migratory songbird called the black headed bunting and you might find it interesting that in Spring the males always appear first(I once saw 20 birds in one tree, all males). They quickly establish territories and start singing from prominent postions. A week or so later, the females arrive.
Your other question was about the calls they make. Song thrushes have a subdued, rather soft tacking call whereas the blackbird has a loud tacking call, which can be very insistent if a predator(such as a cat) is close by.
