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Swainson's Thrush
Catharus ustulatus |
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STANFORD LOCATIONS: Uncommon migrant, being most abundant in spring. Typically found in areas providing dense low vegetation. |
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Location |
Type |
Mating System |
Parental Care |
2ndary Diet |
Strategy |
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I: 12-14 DAYS ALTRICIAL |
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4 feet - 20 feet (0 feet - 40 feet) |
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(3-5) MONOG |
MF |
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HOVER & ... GLEAN |
BREEDING: | Woodland, coniferous forest edge (esp where damp), orchards, riparian thickets. ? broods. |
DISPLAYS: | Agonistic: wing flickering, crest raising, also sleeked erect posture with bill pointed upward. |
NEST: | In shrubs (usu in w) or low in conifer tree (e); bulky, of weeds, rotten wood, bark, twigs, grass, moss, occ middle layer of mud, lining of skeletonized leaves, plant fibers, fine rootlets, lichen. |
EGGS: | Pale blue, spotted with browns, occ nearly unmarked. 0.8" (22 mm). |
DIET: | Includes spiders; berries, esp in winter. Young fed insects, perhaps some fruit. Also gleans from ground. |
CONSERVATION: | Winters from c Mexico s to Guyana, w Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, n w Argentina, and Paraguay. Rare cowbird host. |
NOTES: | The least terrestrial of the eastern "ground-dwelling" thrushes. Unlike most N.A. passerines, postbreeding molt is often begun after departure from breeding grounds. |
ESSAYS: | Decline of Eastern Songbirds; Island Biogeography; Molting; Bathing and Dusting. |
REFERENCES: | Cherry, 1985; Dilger, 1956a, b; Noon, 1981. |
Help | Abbreviations | Species-Alphabetical | Species-Taxonomic | Essays-Alphabetical | |
Except for Stanford Locations, the material in this species treatment is taken, with permission, from The Birder's Handbook (Paul Ehrlich, David Dobkin, & Darryl Wheye, Simon & Schuster, NY. 1988). |