Swainson's Thrush Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesSwainson's Thrush
Adult (Olive-backed)
Medium-sized thrush with a round head and a short, straight bill. Olive-brown above with a distinct buffy eyering. White underparts with brownish spotting on the throat and breast.
© terence zahner / Macaulay LibraryNew York, September 27, 2016Adult (Russet-backed)
Individuals breeding in the Pacific states (often called the “Russet-backed” Thrush) are rustier above, with thinner, paler eyerings and medium-brown chest spotting.
© Adam Jackson / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, May 13, 2018Adult (Olive-backed)
Note strong buffy eyering and lores, creating "spectacled" look, as well as buffy wash on breast.
© Benjamin Clock / Macaulay LibraryNew York, October 11, 2011Not all videos have sound
Adult (Olive-backed)
Individuals breeding in the eastern and northern parts of North America (often called “Olive-backed Thrush”) are more olive-brown above with darker spotting on the breast.
© Shawn Billerman / Macaulay LibraryWyoming, May 14, 2016Adult (Russet-backed)
Medium-sized thrush with a round head. Olive-brown above with a distinct buffy eyering and brownish spotting on the throat and breast.
© Adam Dudley / Macaulay LibraryNevada, June 01, 2017Adult (Russet-backed)
Song is a distinctive, fluting, upward-spiraling melody.
© Melani King / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, July 09, 2022Not all videos have sound
Habitat
Breeds primarily in evergreen forests except in California where it also uses deciduous forests near streams.
© Kendall Van Zanten / Macaulay LibraryWashington, June 19, 2017Similar SpeciesHermit Thrush
Adult
Hermit Thrushes have a whitish eyering and a brighter cinnamon tail that contrasts with their back unlike Swainson's which have a buffy eyering and a browner tail that doesn't contrast as much with its back color.
© Yves Gauthier (Mtl) / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, April 18, 2014Similar SpeciesVeery
Adult
Veeries are warmer reddish brown than most Swainson’s Thrushes and have a much fainter eyering. They also have less-obvious chest spotting compared to Swainson's.
© robert beaumont / Macaulay LibraryConnecticut, May 13, 2017Similar SpeciesBicknell's Thrush
Adult
Bicknell’s Thrushes have a grayer face with a thinner grayish eyering compared to Swainson's Thrushes which have a tanner face and a buffy eyering.
© Tom Johnson / Macaulay LibraryNew Jersey, May 11, 2016Similar SpeciesGray-cheeked Thrush
Adult/immature
Gray-cheeked Thrushes have a grayer face and a thinner grayish eyering compared to Swainson's Thrushes which have a tanner face and a buffy eyering.
© Dick Dionne / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 26, 2014Similar SpeciesWood Thrush
Adult/immature
Wood Thrushes are larger and plumper with round dark spots on white underparts and an obvious white eyering unlike Swainson's Thrushes, which have blurry spots on a buffy-colored chest and a buffy eyering.
© Margaret Viens / Macaulay LibraryMaine, May 13, 2015Similar SpeciesAmerican Robin
Juvenile
Juvenile American Robins are substantially larger and heftier, with large blackish spots and at least some of an adult’s reddish breast unlike Swainson's Thrushes with have brown spotting on a buffy-colored chest.
© Greg Gillson / Macaulay LibraryOregon, July 31, 2013Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Thrushes and Allies(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Turdidae)
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