Wood Thrush

The Wood Thrush is a fascinating little bird that resides in North American forests during the breeding season and South American tropical forests during the winter. Even though they are very small birds, they are capable of great feats such as flying at top speeds of 227 kilometers per day when migrating!

About Wood Thrushes

The birds are generally reclusive and only move under the thick forest cover which makes them very difficult to spot. However, you can easily hear their melodies. They are the hallmark of any woodland region. Males begin singing an hour before sunrise and you can hear them up to three hours after sunrise. They may sing sporadically throughout the day, but they can distinctly be heard again around dusk.

A unique feature of this species is that Wood Thrushes are consummate songsters and they are capable of singing internal duets with themselves. In the final phase of its three-part song, it sings pairs of notes simultaneously, one in each branch of its y-shaped syrinx, or voicebox. The two parts beautifully harmonize and create a haunting ventriloquial sound. Wood Thrushes seem particularly interesting, don’t they? Let’s learn a little more about them.

● Wood Thrushes Photos, Color Pattern, Song
● Wood Thrushes Size, Eating behavior, Habitat
● Wood Thrushes Range and Migration, Nesting

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Wood Thrush Color Pattern

Wood Thrushes exhibit a complex molting strategy. This strategy includes complete prebasic molts and partial preformative molt but no alternate molts.

The juvenile plumage consists of umber-brown upperparts, a rump olive crown, and a pale neck. The crown, back, and hindneck are streaked with pale yellow-ochre. The wings and tails are a deeper olive-brown, while the auriculars are dusky. The underparts and the belly are pure white and have large round black spots on the throat and sides. The spots on the underparts are roughly defined and sootier than adults.

The formative plumage consists of bright cinnamon-brown upperparts, that are brightest on the crown and gradually fade out to an olive-brown on the upper tail covers and tail. Their heads have streaks of dull white buff, and their narrow white eye-rings are visible on the head. They have distinctive large brown spots on their underparts. The bird is known for this because it makes them easy to recognize. The spots form around the belly and extend down to the flanks. The middle of the belly remains pale white.

The definitive basic plumage is similar to the formative plumage except that, on average, it tends to be darker and lacks buffy head spots. The rectrices are broader with fewer pointed tips.

Description and Identification

Wood Thrushes are medium-sized Thrushes with huge white pot bellies covered in large brown spots. Their distinctive brown spots and rusty-brown crowns help separate the birds from similar species. However, it is difficult to identify Thrushes by their appearance alone because these bodies are designed to be camouflaged between native flora in the forest. It is much easier to identify these birds by their hallmark sound. The melodious, flute-like music produced by Wood Thrushes is unmistakable. This sound is the characteristic feature of these birds. Bird watchers are likely to hear this wondrous sound before ever spotting the bird.

If one is patient, they might see Wood Thrushes standing in an upright posture on canopy perches, similar to American Robins.

Wood Thrush Song

Wood Thrushes are known for their melodious song, and their chirping is a hallmark of any woodland environment. Males sing at dawn and dusk after arriving at the breeding grounds to attract mates.

Intense hours of singing start a half-hour before sunrise and can continue up to three hours after sunrise. Males fascinatingly compose their songs by using a combination of variants to make a three-part song. In general, males have 1–3 variants of part A, 2–8 of part B and 6–12 of part C. Males sing in non-random patterns, but no particular phrase variant dominates their singing repertoire.

Premature fledglings can emit loud, rapid burst of cheep distress calls to alert their parents, but then suddenly go quiet if they are not pursued.

Adults may give “bup bup” sounds which escalate to “pit pit” calls if danger is imminent and severe. Among the alarm calls, is a distinctive, sharp machine-gun-like sound that you can hear from far away. Females, in particular, emit an “eeeh” sound to warn the community of the presence of predators.

Wood Thrush Size

Wood Thrushes are medium-sized American Thrushes. Adults, on average, span 19 to 21 centimeters from head to tail and weigh between 40 to 50 grams. During the nesting period, females outweigh the males. While they don’t have any severe sexual dimorphism, males on average have wingspans that are 2-3 mm longer than females.

Additionally, older (after second-year) adults generally have longer wingspans than their younger counterparts. On average, males and older adults have a longer tail length than females and yearlings. Evidence suggests that the birds do not differ in size geographically.

Wood Thrush Behavior

Being songbirds, the males usually begin their day by singing a haunting tune from an exposed perch or lower canopy to establish territory. Within a few days, a female initiates pairing by enticing the male bird to chase her in silent circular flights 3 to 6 feet above the ground.

Wood Thrushes defend large territories that can range from 0.8 to 2.8 Hectares in size that are then used for nesting, foraging, and feeding. The birds are generally not sociable, but they form mixed-species flocks in the winter.

Wood Thrushes are generally cordial, and territorial interactions are not confrontational. The birds simply use flight as their method of defense. However, when Thrushes are defending their nest against predators, they use wing flicks, tail flicks, and raising one’s crest. After pairing, the females also help in defending the nest.

Although the birds are mostly monogamous and pair for the breeding season, there is occasionally extra-pair copulation.

What do Wood Thrushes Eat?

The primary diet of Wood Thrushes is solid invertebrates. During the late summer, fall, and winter seasons, they eat fruits foraged in the forest. Moreover, they might also consume snails, small salamanders, and arboreal insects.

Interestingly, during the post-breeding and premigration seasons, the birds appear to consume more high-lipid fruits than usual. One idea that explains this behavior is that they are accumulating fat stores to ensure that they have enough energy to complete the migration process.

The birds forage under the forest canopy to protect themselves from predators. They usually search by using their bills to pick up single leaves and hunt the invertebrates hidden underneath. They usually satisfy this by hopping across the forest floor and pausing in specific areas. Alternately, they fly up to bushes to pick up fruits and then swallow them whole.

Wood Thrush Habitat

These Thrushes generally live in deciduous forests in the Eastern North American continent during the breeding season. Most often these forests will include trees like the red maple, flowering dogwood, American hornbeam, oaks, or pines.

Ideally, the forest will include trees that are over 50 feet tall, an open floor with moist soil, a nearby water source, and various sapling and shrubs. The tree cover tends to be considerably dense which offers ample shade. The forest floor will generally be littered with decaying leaf litter.

Wood Thrushes overwinter in tropical, closed-canopy, semi-evergreen, broad-leaved, and mixed palm forests at 50-1000 meters elevation.

Range and Migration

Wood Thrushes are native to the East American continent. During breeding seasons they may inhabit southeastern Canada and the eastern United States. During the migratory period, you can find them in the southeastern United States and Mexico.

The birds overwinter in South American territories such as Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, and Honduras. Wood Thrushes typically vacate the breeding ground, before migrating, in order to molt and prepare for the journey. Most birds arrive in their winter habitats between September and December, depending on how far south they choose to fly. They tend to fly southwards at an average speed of 27-106 kilometers per day.

The birds begin leaving South American in early March to mid-April to return north. A notable fact is that the birds migrate much faster in the spring, as on average the birds fly up to 271 kilometers per day! An incredible feat for these little birds!

Furthermore, it is intriguing to note that the birds follow different routes for their northward (spring) and southward (winter) migration. Evidence suggests that Wood Thrushes flying south choose a flight path that is further east than the northward route. Nevertheless, the individuals arrive or depart from the Yucatan Peninsula before or after crossing the Gulf of Mexico.

During the migratory process, it is not uncommon for the birds to make pitstops for 1-2 weeks on the way to the destination. These birds typically migrate under the cover of night by flying from 1 hour after sunset to 1-2 hours before sunrise.

Wood Thrush Lifecycle

Wood Thrush clutch sizes range from 3-4 eggs per brood, with 1-2 broods per season. Both the egg incubation period and the nesting period can last anywhere between 12 to 15 days. The eggs appear short, elliptical, and turquoise-green with no distinct markings. Female birds will usually sit quietly with brief bouts of preening and standing to stretch. Nevertheless, the female birds are alert and always on the lookout for potential threats.

By the age of 12 to 15 days, fledglings leave the nest in the day, and parental feedings become less frequent. Many learn to peck at the ground and hunt for food by day 25 without parental support. The chicks fully mature by the next summer (1 year) and are capable of breeding. Normally, 70% of males and 75% of females survive the year. The oldest Wood Thrush on record was 8.9 years old.

Nesting

Unlike various other species, female Wood Thrushes are responsible for choosing the nesting site and constructing nests. Usually, trees and shrubs are chosen as the nest sites. The female gathers grass, leaves, stems, and occasionally paper or plastic.

The nest is 2 to 6 inches high and 4 to 6 inches across. The base and walls are enlarged to ensure that the nest is structurally sound. The walls are woven by placing material at the edge of the base, lifting loose parts up and inward, and tucking them into the bottom.

Using her body weight the female bird will mold a 3-inch inner cup and line it with mud. The mud is then smoothed down with her feet and breast. Furthermore, the bird may sit in the newly formed nest for long periods, as if she were incubating.

Anatomy of a Wood Thrush

Wood Thrushes are medium-sized thrushes where both sexes have similar plumages. The birds have 10 functional primaries, 9 secondaries, and 12 reticles.

The upper mandible is a dusky brown while the lower mandible is pale pinkish. The gape of both, nestlings and adults are bright yellow in color. All birds also have a dark brown iris. Wood Thrush feet color can range from yellowish-brown to pale pink in all sexes, all year round. The Tarsal scales molt in the late summer.

Final Thoughts

Wood Thrushes are fascinating little birds that choose to live in thick, deciduous forests to protect themselves against predators. In general, these birds are cordial and do not engage in a physical confrontation. Brown-headed Cowbirds frequently lay eggs in Wood Thrush nests; instead of fighting this intrusion. Wood Thrushes raise these foreign eggs as their own. These songbirds can produce fascinating sounds that are pleasing to the ear of any birdwatcher lucky enough to experience them. A walk through the forest is incomplete without their distinctive, melodious chirping.

Since the tiny songbirds need to consume a calcium-rich diet to be able to lay their eggs, supplements such as snail shells are essential to successful breeding. Unfortunately, worsening climatic conditions has made acid rain more frequent, which makes finding these shell fragments more difficult. This phenomenon helps explain the evident population decline in recent years.

Ornithology

Bird Watching Academy & Camp Subscription Boxes

At Bird Watching Academy & Camp we help kids, youth, and adults get excited and involved in bird watching. We have several monthly subscription boxes that you can subscribe to. Our monthly subscription boxes help kids, youth, and adults learn about birds, bird watching, and bird conservation.

Bird Watching Binoculars for Identifying Wood Thrushes

The most common types of bird watching binoculars for viewing Wood Thrushes are 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. Bird Watching Academy & Camp sells really nice 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. You can view and purchase them here.

Wood Thrush Stickers

Stickers are a great way for you to display your love for bird watching and the Wood Thrush. We sell a monthly subscription sticker pack. The sticker packs have 12 bird stickers. These sticker packs will help your kids learn new birds every month.

Bird Feeders For Wood Thrushes

There are many types of bird feeders. Here are our favorite bird feeders for your backyard. We use all of these bird feeders currently. Kids will have a great time watching birds eat at these bird feeders. Using this collection of bird feeders will provide a wide variety and many types of birds.

Best Bird Houses For Wood Thrushes

There are many types of bird houses. Building a bird house is always fun but can be frustrating. Getting a bird house for kids to watch birds grow is always fun. If you spend a little extra money on bird houses, it will be well worth every penny and they’ll look great.