Species

Wood thrush

Hylocichla mustelina

A cinnamon-brown thrush with bold black spots, whose flute-like song rings through Georgia's summer woods.

Photo Rhododendrites (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

At a glance

Size: About 18 to 22 cm long
Weight: About 40 to 50 g
Habitat: Moist deciduous and mixed forests
Diet: Insects, snails and berries
In Georgia: A common summer resident, April to October
Voice: A flute-like "ee-oh-lay", ending with a trill
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Rusty-brown above; white below with bold black spots; white eye-ring
Told apart from: Brown thrasher, which is larger with a long tail and streaks
Told apart from: Hermit thrush, which is smaller with fewer spots and a reddish tail
Where to look: Shady woods at dawn and dusk; listen for the song

Behaviour

Wood thrushes forage in leaf litter for insects and snails. They can sing two notes at once, using each side of the voice box separately.

Why they matter

Wood thrushes have declined by about 60 per cent since the 1960s, largely because of forest fragmentation and habitat loss in Central America. They are a symbol of the eastern forest and its troubles.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A cup of grass and mud in a tree fork
Eggs — Usually three or four
Incubation — About 13 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Flight — At about 12 to 15 days
Lifespan — Several years

Living around people

Large blocks of forest protect nesting wood thrushes from cowbirds and predators.
Window strikes are common on migration.

Misconceptions

All spotted thrushes are the same bird. The wood thrush's bold spots and rusty head set it apart.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	In Central America	In Central America	In Central America	Arriving	Nesting	Nesting	Second broods	Young fledging	Migrating south	Last birds	In Central America	In Central America

Where it lives

Recorded in 49 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

Mexico

If you found one

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