Skip to main content

Swainson's Thrush

Silhouette ThrushesThrushes
Swainson's ThrushCatharus ustulatus
  • ORDER: Passeriformes
  • FAMILY: Turdidae

Basic Description

More likely to be heard than seen, Swainson’s Thrushes enliven summer mornings and evenings with their upward-spiraling, flutelike songs. During fall and spring migration, their soft, bell-like overhead “peeps” may be mistaken for the calls of frogs. These largely arboreal foragers pluck berries, glean bugs from leaves, or perch on branches and stumps. They also bound across the forest floor to catch insect prey. They breed in the north and the mountainous West, but they become very widespread during migration.

More ID Info
image of range map for Swainson's Thrush
Year-roundBreedingMigrationNonbreeding
Range map provided by Birds of the World
Explore Maps

Find This Bird

During summer, look—and especially listen—for the Swainson’s Thrush and its distinctive, spiraling song in closed forests of northern North America and the West. Swainson’s Thrushes become numerous across most of forested North America during migration in spring and fall. Though these birds can be hard to spot on the ground in a dim forest understory, they sing frequently in summer and call frequently during migration. In the breeding season, listen for the species’ beautiful, flutelike song coming from rich forest. (Just remember that Hermit Thrushes have a similar song, though it usually includes a clear, level introductory note.) Swainson’s Thrush also gives its distinctive water-drip call quite frequently. Once you get eyes on a candidate, check the face for that distinctive buffy-spectacled look. On winter grounds in Central and northern South America, the species inhabits closed-canopy forest and can often be found attending army-ant swarms.

Other Names

  • Zorzalito de Swainson (Spanish)
  • Grive à dos olive (French)

Backyard Tips

If you live within the Swainson’s Thrush’s range, you can make your yard more enticing to this bird by providing tree and shrub cover and ground-level bird baths, avoiding chemical pesticides, and letting leaf litter accumulate undisturbed.

  • Cool Facts