Swainson's Thrush

Swainson's Thrush

Swainson's Thrush: Medium-sized thrush (swainsoni), with dull olive-brown or olive-gray upperparts, pale buff eye-ring, dark moustache stripe, and brown-spotted buff throat and breast, and white belly. Legs and feet are pink-gray. Flies in a swift, direct flight with rapid wing beats.

● Song: "whit", "peep"

● Foraging & Feeding: Swainson's Thrush: Eats insects, snails, and earthworms; also takes fruits and berries during fall migration. Forages near the ground, but higher in understory than other thrushes; occasionally catches insects in mid-air. Follows army ant swarms in winter.

● Breeding & nesting: Swainson's Thrush: Three to five pale blue eggs, usually flecked with brown, are laid in a nest made of sticks, moss, leaves, plant fibers, and bark, a middle layer of mud, and lined with lichens, dried leaves, and rootlets. Nest is built close to the trunk on a conifer branch, usually from 4 to 20 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Swainson's Thrush: Gray-cheeked Thrush is larger, has gray cheeks, and lacks conspicuous eye-ring. Bicknell's Thrush is smaller, has browner upperparts, more yellow on bill, and different voice. Hermit Thrush has white eye-ring, lacks buff face, and has a rufous tail contrasting with the browner back. Western form of Veery has less buff on face, more red-brown on wings, and gray flanks.

Flight Pattern