Swainson's Thrush

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.

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.