General

Varied Thrush: Large thrush with dark gray upperparts, rust-brown throat, breast, sides and eyebrows, black breast band, and white belly and undertail. Wings are dark gray with two rust-brown bars. Tail is dark gray with white corners. Female is much duller.

Range and Habitat

Varied Thrush: Breeds from Alaska and Yukon south to Oregon, California, Idaho, and Montana. Spends winters from coastal Alaska southward. Preferred habitats include dense coniferous or deciduous forests with abundant water.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"took"

Interesting Facts

 The Varied Thrush defends and maintains small feeding territories around bird feeders. They are aggressive and dominate many other feeder bird species.

 There is an extremely rare variant of this species in which all the orange in the plumage is replaced by white.

 The best clue to this bird's presence is usually its song, which often seems to emanate from the forest itself, and is generally unhelpful to observers wishing to locate the singer.

 A group of thrushes are collectively known as a "hermitage" and a "mutation" of thrushes.

Author

Gary Owen Dick