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Wood Thrush

Hylocichla mustelina ORDER: PASSERIFORMES FAMILY: TURDIDAE

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

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Wood Thrush Photo

© J.R.Woodward / CLO

One of the most common woodland birds of the East, the Wood Thrush is best known for its hauntingly beautiful song. A large and heavily spotted thrush, it is a bird of the interior forest, seldom seen outside the deep woods. Its susceptibility to cowbird parasitism has made it a heavily studied species.

Inside Birding
For complete information on this species, visit The Birds of North America Online.

Appearance

Thrushes
Thrushes
Typical Voice

Adult Description

  • A large forest thrush, just slightly smaller than an American Robin.
  • Back brown, chest white with large dark spots.

Immature Description

Juvenal plumage similar to adults but with tawny spots and streaks on back, neck, and wings.

Range Map Help

Wood Thrush Range Map
View dynamic map of eBird sightings

Similar Species

  • Veery is reddish but not bright rufous, and has very few indistinct spots on chest.
  • Hermit Thrush has reddish tail, but the rest of the upperparts are dark brown. Spots on chest are relatively indistinct and they do not reach the belly.
  • Brown Thrasher is similar in color but has a long tail, wingbars, and streaks, not spots, on the chest. It lives in scrubby areas rather than forests, but the two species can overlap on migration.