Ixoreus naevius
female
The Varied Thrush is a colorful and distinctive songbird. The sexes are dissimilar. Adult males have a blue-gray crown, back, and rump, and dark wings marked with orange-buff patches and wingbars. The face pattern comprises a black eye patch and orange-buff supercilium. A black breast band separates the throat from the rest of the orange-buff underparts, which show subtle bluish scaling on the flanks. Adult females are similar to an adult male, but brown replaces the bluish and black elements of the plumage. Juveniles are similar to an adult female but with more scaly-looking underparts.
The Varied Thrush is present as a breeding species in the north of its range, mainly from May to September. Birds migrate south in fall and their winter range then overlaps in part with areas where the species is present year-round. In spring and early summer, the Varied Thrush’s song is evocative of Pacific Northwest wilderness forests.
male
FACT FILE
LENGTH 9.5 in (24 cm)
FOOD Invertebrates and berries
HABITAT Damp conifer forests and willow scrub
STATUS Locally common summer visitor; resident or winter visitor elsewhere
VOICE Song is a series of well-spaced, strange-sounding whistles. Calls include thin whistles and a sharp tchuup
