Song thrush

One of the advantages of knitting birds is that you can give yourself a Disney Princess moment by having a song thrush alight on your hand and obligingly stay there while you take a photo (chances of this happening in real life: 0%. Proof again that knitting your own reality is the way to go).

The song thrush was a common garden visitor during my childhood. I remember finding piles of snail-shell carnage where one of these beauties had used a stone as an anvil to help liberate a tasty mollusc lunch. These days? I haven't seen one for ages. The song thrush is now on the RSPB's Red List, meaning that the species is considered one of the most in need of serious conservation protection.