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Bird name:

Swainson's Thrush

Catharus ustulatus

Order

PASSERIFORMES

Family

Thrushes (Turdidae)

Code 4

SWTH

Code 6

CATUST

ITIS

179788

Breeding Location:

Forest, Marshes

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Fairly common

Egg Color:

Pale blue with brown flecks

Number of Eggs:

3 - 5

Incubation Days:

12 - 14

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Sticks, moss, leaves, plant fibers and bark with occasional middle layer of mud., Lined with lichens, dried leaves and rootlets.

Migration:

Migratory

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General

Swainson's Thrush: Medium-sized thrush (swainsoni),with dull olive-brown or olive-gray upperparts, pale buff eye-ring, dark moustache stripe, brown-spotted buff throat and breast, and white belly. Legs and feet are pink-gray. Sexes are similar.

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.

Breeding and 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.

Foraging and 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.

Readily Eats

Raisins, Nut Meal

Vocalization

Swainson's Thrush: Song is an upward series of thin, musical, varied whistling notes repeated at intervals without change. Call is a sharp "whit" or hollow "peep."

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.

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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.

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