Swainson's Thrush

Catharus ustulatusOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Thrushes (Turdidae)

Codes: Common Name: SWTH Scientific Name: CATUST ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179788

Swainson's Thrush (swainsoni) Breeding Male

Related Birds

Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
Veery
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Bicknell's Thrush

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Overview

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.

Range and Habitat

Swainson's Thrush: Breeds from Alaska east across Canada to Newfoundland, south to British Columbia, Michigan, and northern New England, and in mountains to southern California, Colorado, and West Virginia. Spends winters in tropics. Prefers coniferous forests and willow thickets.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Listen to Call

Similar Sounding

Voice Text

"whit", "peep"

Interesting Facts

The Swainson's Thrush is the only woodland thrush whose song goes up in pitch.

It was named after William Swainson, an English ornithologist, and is also called the Olive-backed Thrush.

This species may be displaced by the Hermit Thrush where their ranges overlap. Possibly, the latter species adapts more readily to human encroachment upon its habitat.

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

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Samira Belous

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Swainson's Thrush

● 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

Relatively swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.

Swainson's Thrush (swainsoni) Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Swainson's Thrush: Breeds from Alaska east across Canada to Newfoundland, south to British Columbia, Michigan, and northern New England, and in mountains to southern California, Colorado, and West Virginia. Spends winters in tropics. Prefers coniferous forests and willow thickets.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationFairly common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight1.1 Ounces

Perching-like Body

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America