Varied Thrush Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesVaried Thrush
Adult male
Stocky, large thrush with a round head and a straight bill. Adult males are blue-gray on the back and rich burnt orange below with a sooty-black breastband and orange line over the eye.
© Graham Gerdeman / Macaulay LibraryWashington, March 14, 2016Female/immature
Large full-bodied thrush. Females/immatures are browner overall than adult males but still have a burnt-orange breast, wingbars, and eyebrows.
© Ryan Sanderson / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, October 18, 2018Adult male
A large, full-bodied thrush. Male is dark blue-gray on the back and rich burnt-orange below with a sooty-black breastband and orange line over the eye.
© Liam Ragan / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, December 22, 2022Juvenile
Juveniles look like females/immatures but have a paler eyebrow and a dingy grayish breast with spotting.
© Esme Rosen / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, August 12, 2013Adult male
Feeds mostly on berries and nuts during the winter.
© Paul Maury / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, February 09, 2019Adult female
Female has the same patterns as male, but is paler gray-brown. Feeds mostly on berries and nuts during the winter.
© Liam Ragan / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, December 22, 2022Female/immature
Stocky, large thrush with a round head and a straight bill. Females/immatures are paler than adult males with a browner back and a fainter gray breast band.
© Robb Bell / Macaulay LibraryAlberta, October 13, 2018Adult male
Usually seen standing on the ground or perched horizontally in a tree. Note burnt-orange throat and belly separated by a dark breast band.
© Ilya Povalyaev / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, November 11, 2019Female/immature
Hops on the ground or low in shrubs and trees. Eats mainly insects and other arthropods in the summer.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryOregon, August 01, 2001Adult male
In flight, note pale wing stripe on both upperwing and underwing.
© Sam Wilson / Macaulay LibraryOregon, October 14, 2019Female/immature
Breeds in dark understories of humid evergreen and mixed forests along the Pacific Coast. In the winter, many move into dense parks, gardens, and backyards.
© Douglas Hall / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, March 30, 2018Adult male
A bird of western North America, but vagrant individuals regularly appear in the East during the winter.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryMissouri, January 01, 1999Similar SpeciesAmerican Robin
Adult male
American Robins lack the facial, wing, and breast markings of the Varied Thrush.
© Ashley Bradford / Macaulay LibraryVirginia, March 14, 2017Similar SpeciesAmerican Robin
Juvenile
Juvenile American Robins have white spotting on the back that juvenile Varied Thrushes lack. The wings are plain gray, lacking the orange wingbars on Varied Thrush.
© Greg Gillson / Macaulay LibraryOregon, July 31, 2013
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