- Varied Thrush
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Varied Thrush 
Male Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Turdidae Genus: Ixoreus
Bonaparte, 1854Species: I. naevius Binomial name Ixoreus naevius
Gmelin, 1789Synonyms Zoothera naevia
The Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius or Zoothera naevia) is a member of the thrush family Turdidae.
It breeds in western North America from Alaska to northern California. It is migratory, with northern breeders moving south within or somewhat beyond the breeding range. Other populations may only move altitudinally.
Female
This species is an improbable transatlantic migrant, but there is an accepted western European record in Great Britain in 1982.
The breeding habitat is dense coniferous forest, with two to five eggs being laid in a tree nest. It mainly feeds near the ground, foraging for invertebrates, but also eats berries and some seeds.
The male Varied Thrush is a striking bird, and is virtually unmistakable. It is smaller than an American Robin and dark blue-gray above. It has bright orange wing bars, throat, lateral head stripe and underparts. There is a black breast band and facemask. The song is eerie and melancholic.
Female and juvenile birds are browner above and the orange is more subdued. The breast band and facemask are a blotchy brown.
There is an extremely rare variant of this species in which all the orange in the plumage is replaced by white. Interestingly, despite the scarcity of this form, the British vagrant mentioned above was of this type, leading to speculation that whatever mutation causes the colour variation also affects the navigational abilities of this thrush.
Photos
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Varied thrush, Bellevue, WA, USA
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Male. Distinguishing features include a black breast band on a bright orange breast
References
- BirdLife International (2004). Zoothera naevia. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
External links
- Mountain Mocking Bird and Varied Thrush by John Audubon
- Varied Thrush photo galley VIREO (includes picture of bluish-gray egg clutch)
Categories:- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Zoothera
- Native birds of Alaska
- Birds of Canada
- Native birds of Western Canada
- Birds of the United States
- Native birds of the Western United States
- Native birds of the Pacific region U.S.
- Birds of Mexico
- Birds of Baja Peninsula Mexico
- Western North American migratory birds
- Monotypic bird genera
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