Townsend's Solitaire

Townsend's Solitaire, adult

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A long-tailed gray bird of the high western mountains, the Townsend's Solitaire descends in the winter to lower elevations where it feeds almost exclusively on juniper berries.

Description

• Medium-sized songbird.
• Long and slim.
• Dull gray all over.
• White eyering.
• White outer tail feathers.
• Buffy wing patch.

• Size: 20-22 cm (8-9 in)
• Weight: 30-35 g (1.06-1.24 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes alike.

Sound

Song long and complex series of clear warbling notes. Call a high-pitched, ringing "tew."

Conservation Status

Not well sampled, but populations show no significant trends.

Other Names

Solitaire de Townsend (French)
Clarín Norteño (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The Townsend's Solitaire usually puts its nest on the ground, but may nest above the ground in a decaying stub or a live tree. It is especially fond of nesting along cut banks. All of the sites used are nooks or hollows beneath some sort of overhanging object that shelters the nest from above.
• During the winter, the male and female are both strongly territorial, defending patches of juniper trees against other solitaires and other birds. They feed largely or even exclusively on the juniper's ripe, fleshy berries for the entire nonbreeding season.

• The Townsend's Solitaire sings throughout the fall and winter to set up and hold its winter territory. Violent fights may break out in defense of the winter territory, because owners of large, berry-rich territories survive the winter at higher rates than solitaires on small territories with few berries.

Sources used to construct this page:

Bowen, R. V. 1997. Townsend's Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi). In The Birds of North America, No. 269 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.