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Swainson's Thrush

Swainson's Thrush

Catharus ustulatus

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Swainson's Thrush is a medium-sized, plain olive-brown North American thrush known for its beautiful, upward-spiralling, flute-like song. It breeds in dense coniferous forests across Canada, Alaska and the northern United States and in deciduous woodland along the Pacific coast, and winters from southern Mexico to South America. It is named after the English ornithologist William Swainson and is a very rare vagrant to Europe.

Did you know?

  • Along the Pacific coast, many Indigenous peoples say its song makes the salmonberries ripen.
  • Inland birds migrate east within North America before heading south to South America.

Voice

Song
Call
Alarm call

About the species

Identification

A small thrush (16–18 cm) with dark spotting on the underparts concentrated on the throat and breast. A clear, buffy eye-ring and slightly buff face separate it from the grey-faced Grey-cheeked Thrush. It resembles a Song Thrush, but the spotting does not extend onto the flanks and belly. The white-black-white underwing pattern typical of Catharus thrushes can be seen at close range.

Family

Turdidae

Size

Small (sparrow)

Colours

brown, white, grey

About the habitat

Coniferous and mixed forest with dense undergrowth, and deciduous woodland near the Pacific coast; in winter tropical forests.

Diet

Mainly insects, spiders and other invertebrates taken on the forest floor and in trees, as well as fruit and berries, especially on migration.

Behaviour

Keeps to the shaded forest understorey, foraging quietly. Its song is an ascending spiral of flute-like phrases, often at dusk. It builds a cup nest on a horizontal branch. Inland populations take a roundabout migration route, first moving east before heading south.

Sources

Photo: Paul Danese, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20260519 swainsons thrush pleasant valley ws PD02426.jpg

Sound: Doug Hynes, XC613535, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/613535

Sound: Niels Krabbe, XC250602, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/250602

Sound: Rudyard W, XC651538, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/651538

Text: Wikipedia (English), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swainson%27s_thrush

See also