Difference between revisions of "Swainson's Thrush" - BirdForum Opus

Revision as of 17:06, 3 October 2016

Nominate subspecies
Photo by jvhigbee
Spanaway, Washington, USA, September 2005

Catharus ustulatus

Identification

16–20 cm (6¼-7¾ in)

Brown upperparts (olive-brown on Eastern birds, reddish-brown on Western birds)
White underparts
Brown flanks
Lighter brown breast with darker spots
Pink legs
Light brown eye ring

Subspecies swainsoni
Photo by Stanley Jones
Wildsumaco Lodge, Napo Province, Ecuador, January 2016

Distribution

Breeds virtually throughout North America from Alaska to California. Wintering in the West Indies, and Central and South America from Mexico to Argentina.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Six subspecies are recognised^[1]:
Russet-backed

C. u. ustulatus:

Coastal south-eastern Alaska to southern Oregon; winters to western Mexico

C. u. phillipsi:

Breeds on the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Canada; winters from Mexico to northern Nicaragua

C. u. oedicus:

Breeds in California (coast ranges east to the west slope of the Sierra Nevada); winters from north-western Mexico south to Nicaragua

Olive-backed

C. u. incanus:

Breeds in central and eastern Alaska and north-western Canada (south to northern British Columbia and north central Alberta); winters in South America (Colombia to Peru)

C. u. appalachiensis:

Breeds in the north-eastern United States (New Hampshire and central New York south to Virginia; winters in South America (Colombia to Peru)

C. u. swainsoni:

Breeds from western Canada (British Columbia and Alberta) south to Great Basin region and north central and north-eastern northern United States (north of the range of appalachiensis) and east to eastern Canada; winters from Panama south to Bolivia and north-western Argentina

Habitat

Coniferous and mixed woodland. Douglas fir on coasts.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists mostly of invertebrates and fruit.

Breeding

They build a cup nest on a horizontal tree branch.

References

Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved April 2016)
Wikipedia
BF Member observations

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Swainson's Thrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Swainson%27s_Thrush

External Links

Search for photos of Swainson's Thrush in the gallery

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 ==Taxonomy==
 ====Subspecies====
-Four subspecies are recognised<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>:<br />
+Six subspecies are recognised<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>:<br />
 '''Russet-backed'''
-*''C. u. almae'':
+*''C. u. ustulatus:
-:*Southern [[Alaska]] and western [[Canada]]; winters to Gulf Coast of southern [[US]]
-*''C. u. ustulatus'':
 :*Coastal south-eastern [[Alaska]] to southern [[Oregon]]; winters to western [[Mexico]]
+*''C. u. phillipsi'':
+:*Breeds on the Queen Charlotte Islands, [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]]; winters from Mexico to northern [[Nicaragua]]
 *''C. u. oedicus'':
-:*Northern [[Washington]] to southern [[California]]; winters to southern [[Mexico]]
+:*Breeds in [[California]] (coast ranges east to the west slope of the Sierra Nevada); winters from north-western Mexico south to Nicaragua<br />
-*''C. u. swainsoni'': ('''Olive-backed'''):
+'''Olive-backed'''
-:*Eastern [[Canada]] to eastern [[US]]; winters to [[West Indies]] and northern [[Argentina]]
+*''C. u. incanus'':
+:*Breeds in central and eastern Alaska and north-western Canada (south to northern British Columbia and north central Alberta); winters in [[South America]] ([[Colombia]] to [[Peru]])
+*''C. u. appalachiensis'':
+:*Breeds in the north-eastern [[United States]] ([[New Hampshire]] and central [[New York]] south to [[Virginia]]; winters in South America (Colombia to Peru)
+*''C. u. swainsoni'':
+:*Breeds from western Canada (British Columbia and Alberta) south to Great Basin region and north central and north-eastern northern United States (north of the range of appalachiensis) and east to eastern Canada; winters from [[Panama]] south to [[Bolivia]] and north-western [[Argentina]]
 ==Habitat==
 Coniferous and mixed woodland. Douglas fir on coasts.
@@ Line 32: / Line 38: @@
 They build a cup nest on a horizontal tree branch.
 ==References==
-#{{Ref-Clements6thAug15}}#Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved April 2016)
+#{{Ref-Clements6thAug16}}#Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved April 2016)
 #Wikipedia
 #BF Member observations