THRUSHES

Swainson’s Thrush

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Catharus ustulatus

The Swainson's Thrush, also called Olive-backed Thrush, is a medium-sized thrush. It is a slim songbird with a round head and short, straight bill.

Adults are rather warm olive-brown above, and whitish below, with a distinct warm buff wash to the face, throat and breast, and a distinct buffish eye-ring.

Underparts show more restricted spotting than in Song Thrush, being only weakly marked on lower breast and flanks.

Both sexes are alike. Eyes are dusk. Legs and feet are flesh-colored. Bill is yellow with a black tip.

Immatures are similar to adults.

Birds in the East are more olive-brown above; western birds are more reddish-brown.

Both sexes are 6.3 - 7.5 inches in length, with 11.4 - 12.2 inches wingspan and 23 - 45 grams weight.

CALL: Most typical call is an emphatic, low, liquid “whit”. There is also a soft “whup”.

SONG: An ascending spiral of varied whistles. At night, a peeping “queep” is heard.

Feeds on fruit, berries and insects. It also eats spiders and other invertebrates. Young are fed insects, and possibly some fruits.

Coniferous or mixed forest, with rather open undergrowths, and also woodland thickets especially near streams.

It winters in mature tropical forest, and secondary forest.

Breeds from interior Alaska throughout most of Canada, southward to northern states in the East, and through mountains in West and along Pacific coasts.

Winters in Mexico and South America.

The female builds a bulky open cup-shaped nest with grasses, plants stems, moss, small twigs and mud. It is lined with skeletonized leaves, rootlets, lichens or moss, and animal hair.

She lays 3 - 4 blue to greenish-blue eggs, speckled with reddish or brown. Incubation lasts about 12 days by the female.

SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.oiseaux-birds.com