But mistle thrushes are not actually very efficient at distributing mistletoe seeds.

The number of swifts, skylarks and mistle thrushes are also dramatically dwindling every year, said the ten-year BirdWatch Ireland research.

However, the Countryside Bird Survey expresses concern about the dwindling numbers of kestrels, skylarks, swifts and mistle thrushes in the countryside.

As with holly, pairs of mistle thrushes will often set up a territory around individual trees and defend their stock of berries.