The Song Thrush is omnivorous, eating a wide range of invertebrates, especially earthworms and snails, as well as soft fruit and berries. Like its relative, the Blackbird, the Song Thrush finds animal prey by sight, has a run-and-stop hunting technique on open ground, and will rummage through leaf-litter seeking potential food items.

Snails are especially important when drought or hard weather makes it difficult to find other food. The thrush often uses a favourite stone as an "anvil" on which to smash the snail before extracting the soft body and invariably wiping it on the ground before consumption.Young birds initially flick objects and attempt to play with them until they learn to use anvils as tools to smash snails. The nestlings are mainly fed on animal food such as worms, slugs, snails and insect larvae.

The Grove Snail (Cepaea nemoralis) is regularly eaten by the Song Thrush, and its polymorphic shell patterns have been suggested as evolutionary responses to reduce predation; however, Song Thrushes may not be the only selective force involved.

Listen to the Song Thrush