Mystery Bird: White-throated Thrush, Turdus assimilis

tags: , , , ,

[Mystery bird] White-throated Thrush, Turdus assimilis, photographed in Allen Williams Yard, Pharr, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]

Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 April 2008 [larger view].

Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/160s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.

Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.

Review all mystery birds to date.

More like this

tags: Grasshopper Sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Grasshopper Sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum, photographed in Attwater Prairie Chicken Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow] Image: Joseph Kennedy, 6 December 2008 [larger view…
tags: Orange-crowned Warbler, Vermivora celata, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Orange-crowned Warbler, Vermivora celata, photographed in Allen Williams Yard, Pharr, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow] Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 April 2008 [larger view]. Nikon D200…
tags: Yellow Warbler, Dendroica petechia, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Yellow Warbler, Dendroica petechia, photographed at Sabine Woods and Sabine Pass area, Port Arthur, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours] Image: Joseph Kennedy, 28 April 2008 [larger view…
tags: Cooper's Hawk, Chicken Hawk, Blue Darter, Accipiter cooperii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz [Mystery bird] Sharp-shinned Hawk, Accipiter striatus, Cooper's Hawk, also known as a Chicken Hawk or Blue Darter (?!), Accipiter cooperii, photographed at Smith Point, Texas. [I will identify…

Clay-colored Robin?

It looks thrush/robin-like in beak and body shape. Brown above, streaky white/brown throat, light buff breast.

But, the eye ring looks more pronounced here than in my book, and the white patch below the throat isn't in my book. But the Clay-colored Robin shows as a South Texas bird, which might fit the geographic range (I'm not sure where Pharr is, and don't have a map handy).

I looked at that and said, "That's a thrush!" (the stripy chin and the tail and the general "thrushiness"). I have heard of white-throated thrushes, so I googled that, and I think that's what it is. I've never seen one, though.

The closest thing I can find is a Grayson's Thrush, which my Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America describes as having "greyish olive-brown back, pale cinnamon wash to sides". Though I could believe White-throated Thrush, too; none of the illustrations in my guide show a bird that looks quite like that, but the text describes it as variable, with the darker varieties tending to be toward the south, from which I assume the lighter ones (which this would be) being toward the north.

I don't consider birds not in Sibley to be "real" mystery birds for the purposes of my personal obsession, so I'm going to leave this as Grayson's Thrush, and won't agonize over it if I'm wrong.

I am going with White-throated Thrush. The obvious eye-ring and white patch on the throat stand out. Also the head looks fairly dark to dark for a Clay-colored Robin. Beautiful picture.

Clearly a White-bibbed Thrush (Catharus lecuobibbous). Prominent eye ring, slightly hooked, dark, upper mandible with light-colored lower mandible, striped below the lower mandible, white bib.

By Scott Lewis (not verified) on 20 Jan 2009 #permalink

Bert Frenz and other RV birders are in the Patzcuaro, Michoacan area of Mexico for two days. We saw several White-throated thrushes at Arroyo Frio Balneario near Pedernales today. If you´re ever in the area and want to see one, let me know.

By Georgia Conti (not verified) on 22 Jan 2009 #permalink