Wood thrush

Language English

Onglets

Description

Distinguishing features

The wood thrush is easy to recognize by the reddish-brown plumage on its back and the bold, round spots on its pale breast. This feature sets it apart from other North American thrushes. Its eyes are dark and noticeably large.

Its pinkish legs and slender silhouette are reminiscent of a robin. Its flutelike song, rich in harmonics, is often described as one of the most melodious sounds of temperate forests.

Reproduction

As a migratory species, the wood thrush returns to temperate regions in spring. The breeding season usually runs from May to July.

Males establish breeding territories and defend them from other males while singing complex vocalizations.

The female builds a cup-shaped nest low in a young tree or shrub. She lays 3 to 4 blue-green eggs and incubates them for about 12 days. The nestlings leave the nest about 12 days later, but remain dependent on their parents for several weeks. The species is monogamous during the breeding season.

Diet

An opportunistic omnivore, the wood thrush feeds mainly on invertebrates such as worms, insects, and spiders. It finds them on the ground, most often by lightly scratching through leaf litter. It may also flip leaves one by one or sweep the forest floor with its bill to probe for hidden prey.

In late summer and fall, it eats a wide variety of fruits, including blueberries and berries from elder, dogwood, and chokeberry.

Predators

Adult wood thrushes may be hunted by forest raptors such as the sharp-shinned hawk and the broad-winged hawk.

Nests, meanwhile, can be raided by snakes, squirrels, raccoons, or crows. Forest fragmentation also exposes this species to additional predators, including domestic cats.

Habitat

The wood thrush prefers mature, moist forests with dense understory, including sugar maple stands and mixed forests in eastern North America. It often nests in shady areas with deep leaf litter, and it tends to avoid forest edges and clearings.

In winter, it migrates to Central America, where it frequents humid tropical forests from Honduras to Panama. Each year, it makes two migratory journeys that can exceed 4,000 km each.

Ecology, behaviour

The wood thrush plays an important ecological role by helping control ground-dwelling invertebrates. Its diet also helps disperse the seeds of many fruit-bearing trees.

The species is sensitive to landscape fragmentation, which increases the amount of forest edge habitat. This, in turn, can lead to higher rates of nest predation and brood parasitism.

In its wintering range, tropical deforestation adds another pressure. Because the wood thrush depends on two intact forest habitats on two continents, it is considered a bioindicator of forest disturbance.

French name

Grive des bois

Scientific name

Hylocichla mustelina

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Birds

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Turtidae

Size

Lenght: about 20 cm

Weight

Between 40 et 50 g

Life span

About 8 years

Status

In decline

At the Biodôme

One wood thrush lives among the birds in the Laurentian Maple Forest ecosystem. It came to us from a wildlife rehabilitation centre after fracturing its right wing. Although it has healed, it can no longer fly long distances. The Biodôme provides an adapted habitat where it can live in conditions similar to its natural environment.

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