Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) - 10Feb2025

This gorgeous and common bird is a year-round resident in most of Europe and then migratory in the more eastern and southern parts of its range in north Africa and Asia.  It has been sorely misunderstood and previously grouped in with Turdus thrushes not to mention its name which implies a warbler.  In fact it is an old world flycatcher and behaves more like a phoebe than a thrush or warbler.  I have seen them a few times in Europe but it was not until my latest trip to the south of France where I properly crushed this one at a train station.

Great Thrush (Turdus fuscater) - 06-22Aug2024

This is the largest of the thrush species in South America and is common at high elevations along the Andes from Venezuela down to Bolivia.   Although I saw them on my first trip to Colombia, it was not until my second trip in 2024 where I was able to study them closely.  We saw them throughout almost the entire trip.

Black-hooded Thrush (Turdus olivater) - 04Aug2019

I hate to post such a horrible photo of this species, but it is mainly found in the Santa Marta range in Colombia and in Venezuela so it is unlikely I will see one again any time soon.  Although I loved Santa Marta, I have already picked up most of the endemics there. As for Venezuela, who knows when visiting that country will be safe for someone with a US passport, but probably not in the next 5 years.

Black-billed Thrush (Turdus ignobilis) - 10Aug2024

This is a common thrush of the Colombian and Venezuelan highlands.  We saw them in multiple locations on my second trip to Colombia including many confiding individuals visiting the suet and fruit feeders at Ukuku Lodge which is where this photo was taken.

Rufous-bellied Thrush (Turdus rufiventris) - 10&13Aug2022

This is a common thrush throughout southeast South America and the state bird of Sao Paulo.  They are said to embody the "spirit of the Brazilian commoner".  I am not sure what that means exactly but clearly the average Brazilian holds this bird and its songs dear to their hearts.  These photos are from Pousada Aguape in the southern Pantanal.

Creamy-bellied Thrush (Turdus amaurochalinus) - 15Aug2022

This thrush of southeastern South America is similar to the Pale-breasted Thrush but has dark lores and less contrast between the head and mantle.  They are fairly common and can be seen in city parks or gardens.  My pictures are from the Pantanal in Brazil, but I also saw them in a city park in Sao Paulo.

Pale-breasted Thrush (Turdus leucomelas) - 15Aug2022

The Pale-breasted Thrush is a widespread species across the eastern and central parts of South America.  It is similar to the Creamy-bellied Thrush but has more contrast between the mantle and head and lacks the dark lores of that species.  These photos are from the grounds of the hotel at Pousada Aguape in the southern portion of the Pantanal in Brazil.

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) - 21Mar2023

The Song Thrush has a similar distribution to the Mistle Thrush across much of the Paleoarctic and North Africa.  It also shares a tendency to inhabit city parks but is less likely to be caught out in the open on a grassy lawn like the Mistle Thrush.  The Song Thrush looks like a more heavily spotted versions of one of our North American thrushes and it tends to stay in the forested parts of parks like this one photographed in Hyde Park, London.

Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) - 20Mar2023

This relatively common thrush of Europe, temperate Asia and North Africa is a year-round resident in much of its range in Europe but does have migratory populations in the east that move south for the winter.  It is named for its favorite food which is Mistletoe berries but it does have a more varied diet including worms in city parks.  This is why they can sometimes be seen out in the open on a grassy lawn like this one photographed in Hyde Park in London.

Black Solitaire (Entomodestes coracinus) - 14Aug2024

This solitaire can be found in Colombia and Ecuador in montane forests.  We had ours on the Camino Montezuma at the Montezuma Rainforest Lodge in Colombia.

Bicknell's Thrush (Catharus bicknelli) - 11Jul2021

This is one of North America's rarest and localized songbirds, preferring to breed only on mountain tops in the northeastern United States and Canada.  The big challenge with these is that although they migrate over much of the eastern seaboard, they are virtually impossible to ID in the field because they look like Gray-cheeked Thrush and they don't usually vocalize when in migration.  Its highly likely that they have been seen regularly in my home state of North Carolina but are misidentified as Gray-cheeked.  So the best way to see these birds is to head to the top of a mountain in June or July when most of the Gray-cheeked are further north and listen for the distinctive song.  I got mine from the top of Old Speck Mountain in Maine.  

Orange-billed Nightingale-thrush (Catharus aurantiirostris) - 02Aug2019

This reclusive thrush has a fairly large range across Central America and northern parts of South America.  Apparently they are fairly common, but I have only seen one!  This photograph was from my first trip to Colombia in the Santa Marta mountains.

Rufous-throated Solitaire (Myadestes genibarbis) - 29Dec2024

This is a solitaire of the Caribbean isles with populations on Jamaica, Hispaniola and all the way down the Grenadines and St Lucia.   I photographed this one in the Dominican Republic on a hike up Ebano Verde.  They have a beautiful song like many solitaires.  Fun fact from Wiki: "On Dominica the bird is nicknamed the siffleur montagne (or mountain whistler)."

White-banded Mockingbird (Mimus triurus) - 12Aug2022

This species of Mockingbird overlaps a little with the Chalk-browed but mostly it is found to the west and south of that species.  We did have this one in the Pantanal in Brazil, but most of them breed in Argentina.  It is one of the more handsome of the Mockingbird species and this one posed nicely after skulking around for a while.

Chalk-browed Mockingbird (Mimus saturninus) - 13Aug2022

The Chalk-browed Mockingbird has two disjunct populations in South America, one in Brazil's northeast and a much larger one covering much of the southeast and central parts of South America.  They were fairly common on my trip to the Pantanal including the grounds of the hotel at Pousada Aguape which is where I photographed this one.

California Thrasher (Toxostoma redivivum) - 27Nov2019 and 21Sep2013

The California Thrasher is obviously found in California the state, but also Baja California.  Both photos below are from the San Diego area.

 

Long-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma longirostre) - 06Apr2024

The Long-billed Thrasher is a close relative and resembles the Brown Thrasher that is familiar to my home state in North Carolina.  However, the Long-billed Thrasher lives in South Texas and Mexico.  Here is one from the Santa Margarita Ranch in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

Pearly-eyed Thrasher (Margarops fuscatus) - 22Dec2014

This large thrasher species is found on many Caribbean islands including Puerto Rico which is where I photographed this one.  It is the largest bird in the Mimidae family and it is the only bird in its genus. 

White-capped Dipper (Cinclus leucocephalus) - 11Aug2024

This is one of the two South American dipper species and the more common of the two.  This one is found  at mostly higher elevations from Venezuela down through Bolivia.  Along with the Torrent Duck, this was one of my favorite birds on my second trip to Colombia.  I could watch it all day, diving and swimming underwater in a roiling river.  

American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) - 03Jun2021

All five species of Dipper in the genus Cinclus are awesome birds!  The American Dipper is a semi-aquatic bird of the American West and parts of Central America.  They can dive underwater and swim, looking for invertebrates and other morsels where other birds cannot go.  My below photos are from Oregon where I ran into a family of dipper chicks being fed by a parent.

 

Munchique Wood-wren (Henicorhina negreti) - 14Aug2024

Here is yet another endemic bird of Colombia that was only recently described as a new species after the turn of the century when FARC declared peace with the government and areas were opened up that were previously closed.  The Munchique Wood-wren was previously lumped in with Gray-breasted Wood-wren but was split out based on morphologic and vocal differences.  It is endemic to the Pacific slope of the Western Andes in Colombia.

Hermit Wood-wren or Santa Marta Wood-wren (Henicorhina anachoreta) - 03Aug2019

The Hermit Wood-wren is also known as the Santa Marta Wood-wren but it is better to use Hermit because there is another Santa Marta Wren.  This species was split from the Gray-breasted Wood-wren and is endemic to the Santa Marta mountains in Colombia.  As with many of these wood-wrens, they pack a lot of punch for such a small bird and can be heard at great distances.

Sharpe's Wren (Cinnycerthia olivascens) - 08Aug2024

This species is in the same genus as the Rufous Wren and also inhabits higher elevation forests from Colombia to Peru in the Andes but it has different vocalizations and has a distinctive white patch above the bill. I took this picture on my second trip to Colombia.

Rufous Wren (Cinnycerthia unirufa) - 08Aug2024

This is a high elevation species that can be found Venezuela down to Peru following the Andes range.  I think I was the only one to see this on our second trip to Colombia and only managed a quick shot with a leaf in his face.  Although it is not supposed to be rare by any means, it seems they move around and are difficult to pin down to any specific area.  

Fawn-breasted Wren (Cantorchilus guarayanus) - 13Aug2022

This species is found smack dab in the center of South America and used to be considered con-specific with Buff-breasted Wren but they have different vocalizations and they have been formally split in most taxonomies including eBird's.  We had this one on my trip to the Pantanal in Brazil.

Buff-breasted Wren (Cantorchilus leucotis) - 11Aug2024

The Buff-breasted Wren is another skulker of vines and tangles that ranges over much of the northern half of South America but even goes as far as the southeast coast of Brazil.   I saw mine on my second trip to Colombia. 

Antioquia wren (Thryophilus sernai) - 21Aug2024

This Vulnerable (IUCN Status) wren is endemic to Colombia and was only described as a new species in 2010.  It inhabits a very small area within the Cauca River Canyon.