Varied Thrush

Varied Thrush, male

About the photographs

About the map

Play sound from this species

Varied Thrush

Menu

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

A large, robin-like thrush of the Pacific Northwest, the Varied Thrush is a characteristic bird of the mature, dark coniferous forests. Wandering individuals turn up regularly far from home, wintering around feeders in the midwestern states.

Description

• Large thrush.
• Burnt orange throat, chest.
• Dark face mask and back.
• Dark V-shaped breast band.
• Buffy orange wingbars and stripe above eye.

• Size: 19-26 cm (7-10 in)
• Wingspan: 34-38 cm (13-15 in)
• Weight: 65-100 g (2.29-3.53 ounces)

Sex Differences

Female duller and slightly smaller than male.

Sound

Strong whistled tone on a single pitch, usually buzzy in quality. Call note a dry "chup."

Conservation Status

Breeding populations in United States are declining, perhaps because of logging of mature forests. Not listed. May benefit from reserves established for Spotted Owl.

Other Names

Grive à collier (French)
Zorzal pechicinchado, Mirlo pecho cinchado (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• Males, but only rarely females, defend and maintain small feeding territories around bird feeders. They are aggressive and dominate many other feeder bird species.

• To defend a territory a male may first give a Tail-Up display where the bird faces away from the intruder and holds its tail up to show off the gray-and-white patterned undertail coverts. If the intruder keeps coming the male may turn around and give the Head-Forward display with the wings fanned to show off the orange wing stripe and the tail cocked up over the head showing the white corners.

• Data from Project Feeder Watch show that populations go up and down every other year. Go here for a discussion.

Sources used to construct this page:

George, T. L. 2000. Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius). In The Birds of North America, No. 541 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.