Eyebrowed Thrush

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Eyebrowed Thrush in the UK

Eyebrowed Thrush is a rare vagrant from Siberia, on the British List in Category A. There were 30 accepted British records to the end of 2024. The first was a first-winter bird at Oundle, Northamptonshire, on 5 October 1964, and two more followed before the end of that year. It is not annual: years pass with none, then 2020 produced three in a week. Most stay a day or two. One at Ash, Kent, from January to March 2021 was a rare wintering bird.

Where and when to see an Eyebrowed Thrush

Records cluster on islands in October. The Isles of Scilly had seven between 1964 and 1993. Since 2009 Orkney and Shetland have taken most, with North Ronaldsay alone holding four. Fair Isle, St Kilda and Bardsey have also scored. Look in the first half of October after easterly winds, when Redwings are arriving, and check every thrush on short turf and in berry bushes. There are a few spring records, in April to June. News usually breaks from a bird observatory or a visiting autumn birder.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Woodland (very rare).
Diet: Berries.
Field note: Bold supercilium.

How to identify an Eyebrowed Thrush

Redwing-sized and similar in shape. Upperparts are plain olive-brown, the breast and flanks are a soft orange-buff and the belly is white. The face carries a long white stripe over the eye, a dark line through it and a white mark below. Adult males have a grey head and throat. First-winter birds are browner-headed with a whitish throat. The underparts have no spots or streaks, and the underwing is pale grey-brown, not rusty red.

Call and song

The flight call is a thin, drawn-out "tseee", very close to Redwing, so the call will not pick one out of a flock. The simple whistled song is not heard in Britain. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Redwing: Redwing has a streaked breast and rusty red flanks and underwing, where Eyebrowed Thrush is unstreaked orange-buff below.
• Song Thrush: Song Thrush is spotted all over the underparts and has no bold white stripe over the eye.
• Black-throated Thrush: Black-throated Thrush is greyer above with a dark or streaked throat and breast and no orange on the flanks.

Related guide Rare birds in the UK.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Eyebrowed Thrush is an Epic tier bird, worth +20 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Black-throated ThrushEpic · Open woodland (very rare)
• Dusky ThrushLegendary · Woodland (very rare)
• Naumann's ThrushLegendary · Woodland (extreme vagrant)
• Song ThrushCommon · Gardens
• American RobinEpic · Gardens
• BlackbirdCommon · Gardens

Eyebrowed Thrush: quick answers

Has an Eyebrowed Thrush ever been seen in the UK?

Yes. Thirty have been accepted, starting with three in autumn 1964 in Northamptonshire, the Outer Hebrides and Scilly. Recent birds include singles on Orkney in October 2023 and November 2024.

When is the best time to see Eyebrowed Thrush?

October. Two thirds of British records were found in that month, most of them between the 1st and the 21st. Three have appeared in April and May, and there are scattered records in June, September, November, December and January.

What habitat does Eyebrowed Thrush live in?

It breeds in dense conifer forest across Siberia and winters in south-east Asia. Vagrants in Britain use whatever the island or headland offers: grazed fields, gardens, hedges and berry bushes, often alongside newly arrived Redwings.

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