Catharus ustulatus
adult
Swainson’s Thrush is a small, subtly marked songbird. The sexes are similar. Adults have an olive-buff tail and upperparts, “colder” looking than the plumage of a Veery. The face and throat are buff, the latter bordered by a dark line, and the eye is framed by buff “spectacles.” The underparts are pale, the breast having a buffish-yellow suffusion and dark spots; there are subtle gray spots on the lower breast and gray flanks. Juveniles are olive-brown and spotted, but by fall, when they migrate, their plumage resembles that of an adult aside from buff tips to the wing coverts.
Swainson’s Thrush is present as a breeding species mainly from May to September. It passes the rest of the year in South America. It spends much of its time in dense cover, foraging for invertebrates among leaf litter. Its presence in an area is often first detected by hearing its song.
adult
adult
FACT FILE
LENGTH 7 in (18 cm)
FOOD Invertebrates
HABITAT Conifer forests with a dense understory
STATUS Widespread and common summer visitor
VOICE Song comprises a series of fluty whistles that rise in tone throughout the sequence. Call is a sharp quiirp
