Constantine Samuel Rafinesque introduced the family Turdidae under the name Turdinia in 1815. This French polymath established the classification that biologists used for over a century to group small Old World species like the nightingale and European robin.
The Turdidae family contains 194 species divided into 17 distinct genera today. The largest group is Turdus with typical thrushes reaching 105 species including two extinct ones, while other genera like Zoothera encompass Asian thrushes numbering twenty-two.
Turdidae species spread seeds of plants contributing to ecosystem recovery worldwide through a process called ornithochory. Birds swallow seeds whole then regurgitate them or pass them through faeces later to establish grasses algae spores and mollusc eggs in remote areas after such journeys.
The thrush was once trapped and eaten in much of Europe before modern restrictions took hold. The famous cook Marie-Antoine Carême recommended preparing thrushes as crépinettes served with sauce Périgueux as part of regional culinary traditions across European cultures.