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Quiz Bird - Pacifica, California, USA (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter jmorlan
- Start date
connorco
Well-known member
It seems like some of the birds breeding directly on the coast here might be a different subspecies than the birds a little inland. At least at the outer point the birds breeding there look very rufous with little spotting, almost like Veerys.
This species may be separated into two groups, Olive-backed Thrush in the north and east and Russet-backed Thrush in the far west. This is an example of the Russet-backed group (presumably C. u. oedicus) characterized by more russet upperparts, smaller fainter breast spots and more buffy flanks. These birds are somewhat grayer than nominate birds which range further north. However the dividing line between oedicus and ustulatus is rather murky and Point Reyes birds have characters suggesting nominate. But a word of caution. We usually see these birds in deep shade, but if they come out into sunlight, they look much redder than we might be expecting. And yes, they are frequently confused with Veery especially when encountered by people from the East who have a very different impression of what Swainson's should look like.
