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So my understanding and how I play it is . . .
1) No your not doing something wrong familiars can be incredibly good at certain skills when starting off the trade off is that it takes a long time for them to get better (and they tend not to be that good outside that).
For example your thrush has +12 ranks (fly), +3 class skill (familiars by default treat Acrobatics, Climb, Fly, Perception, Stealth, and Swim as class skills), +2 dex for a total of +17. Its a bird so its naturally very good at flying however its not going to get better unless you spend more than 12 ranks into the fly skill yourself. That is if you purchase 11 ranks in fly its 12 is better so it uses that, if you purchase 12 they're identical and it can use either, if you purchase 13 ranks then your skill is better and it can use that instead of its 12. So it starts off flying well (like a bird :)) it'll slowly come down to be in line with the party, it wont get better till your at least level 13 (it uses your ranks not your bonus) and the only other skills it can use are what you buy.
It actually has +13 to perception I think 5 ranks, +3 from class skill, +3 from skill focus and +2 from 15 wisdom (using an average thrush's stats).
2) Linguistics from what I recall is debated and controversial. The wording in the skill is you get a language when you put a rank in it. Your familiar never puts ranks in it merely uses them. So that's a DM call some DM's will let it know extra languages, some will allow it to know the languages your character learnt from those ranks (but not necessarily speak them) and some wont give it any bonus languages.
I don't know the thrush off the top of my head (had to look up its stats) but assuming its like a raven it will speak common when you take it as a familiar (or depending on DM a racial language your character knows).
3) Skill focus is a feat that gives +3 to all checks when using a given skill to represent your being particularly good in it. For example your thrush gets a +3 when making a perception check. Alternatively if you took skill focus - painting whenever you made a painting check you'd add 3 to that roll.
Thrush: Dex 15, Wis 15, diminutive w/average maneuverability, skill focus (perception).
Currently its perception bonus comes from zero ranks, +2 Wis, +3 feat for total +5. If the master has a rank in perception it can add +1 for that and +3 for the fact that perception is a class skill for animals, total +9.
Currently its fly skill bonus has +6 for being diminutive/average, +2 Dex, 1 rank +1, class skill +3 for a total of +12.
Sharing your ranks in linguistics may not mean that it shares effects of those ranks like languages. Ask your GM.
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Banana, you (and Senko) are confusing “ranks” and “bonus”, which are two different things. When you look at the skills in a bestiary stat block you are seeing the total bonus, which includes both ranks and all other modifiers. As avr points out, the thrush’s skill bonuses come from one rank in fly and no ranks in perception.
If you have one rank in fly, it doesn’t change your familiar’s bonus at all (because it already has one rank). If you have two ranks, your familiar’s total fly skill goes up by one.
If you have 1 rank in perception your familiar’s bonus will go up by 4, as avr (again) analyzed.
They do not.
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Thank you, but I meant do familiars gain Feats as the character gains levels?Do Familiars even get Feats?Yep.
A familiar is an animal chosen by a spellcaster to aid him in his study of magic. It retains the appearance, Hit Dice, base attack bonus, base save bonuses, skills, and feats of the normal animal it once was, . . .
Automatically, no.
There are a few archetypes that either give feats to familiars or share with the master. Familiar Folio contains 8 feats for familiars (mostly requiring a specific familiar archetype). Technically those feats are "taken" by the master but the benefits are for the familiar.
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Banana, you (and Senko) are confusing “ranks” and “bonus”, which are two different things. When you look at the skills in a bestiary stat block you are seeing the total bonus, which includes both ranks and all other modifiers. As avr points out, the thrush’s skill bonuses come from one rank in fly and no ranks in perception.
If you have one rank in fly, it doesn’t change your familiar’s bonus at all (because it already has one rank). If you have two ranks, your familiar’s total fly skill goes up by one.
If you have 1 rank in perception your familiar’s bonus will go up by 4, as avr (again) analyzed.
Your right I was misreading the entry, saw fly +12 while thinking about ranks and took it as 12 fly ranks not + 12 to fly checks. Hazard of quickly posting before work, I am never at my best first thing in the morning. Still the rest of what I was saying is correct I think just swap the calculations.