THRUSHES

Clay-colored Thrush 

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Turdus grayi

 The Clay-colored Thrush is a common Middle American bird of the thrush family. It is the national bird of Costa Rica, where it is well known as the Yigüirro. It is formally known as Clay-colored Robin.

The Clay-colored Thrush is a large thrush measuring 9.1 - 10.6 inches in length and 74 - 76 grams in weight.

They are relatively unremarkable in appearance. They have brown or olive-brown upperparts—clay-colored—with a warmer, paler shade below.

Their throat is typically their lightest part, but sometimes with faint brown streaks. They have a dull yellow or greenish bill with a dark base, dark pinkish-tan legs, and reddish-brown eyes.

CALL: Various calls including a low clicking and a high-pitched, rising squeak.

SONG: A slow, low warbling blend of whistled notes with a consistent tempo.

Feeds on worms, insects, and other small invertebrates, but will also take fruits and berries.

Prefers open or semi-open lowland environments including forest edges and residential areas such as gardens and parks.

Lives year-round in Central America, from eastern Mexico south across Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica (where it is the country’s national bird), Panama, and into northern Colombia.

It occasionally turns up in the southernmost tip of Texas, where its population and presence has grown in recent years.

The nest is a cup built of grasses, moss, leaves, rootlets, and other fine material typically found together with mud.  The nest is placed in a shrub or tree, but in urban areas may also be placed on a man-made structure. 

The female lays between 2 - 4 light blue eggs with occasional reddish-brown spotting, and she alone incubates them.  The eggs hatch after about 2 weeks, with both parents helping to raise the young.  The young fledge about 2 weeks after hatching.

SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org
https://www.sdakotabirds.com
https://www.birdwatchersdigest.com