The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flycatchers. Thrushes are small to medium-sized ground living birds that feed on insects, other invertebrates and fruit. Some unrelated species around the world have been named after thrushes due to their similarity to birds in this family.
The song thrush is a thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic. It has brown upper-parts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies. Its distinctive song, which has repeated musical phrases, has frequently been referred to in poetry.
The mistle thrush, also spelled missel thrush, is a bird common to much of Europe, temperate Asia and North Africa. It is a year-round resident in a large part of its range, but northern and eastern populations migrate south for the winter, often in small flocks. It is a large thrush with pale grey-brown upper parts, a greyish-white chin and throat, and black spots on its pale yellow and off-white under parts. The sexes are similar in plumage, and its three subspecies show only minimal differences. The male has a loud, far-carrying song which is delivered even in wet and windy weather, earning the bird the old name of stormcock.
Swainson's thrush, also called olive-backed thrush and russet-backed thrush, is a medium-sized thrush. It is a member of genus Catharus and is typical of it in terms of its subdued coloration and beautiful, ascending flute-like voice. Swainson's thrush was named after William Swainson, an English ornithologist.
The grey shrikethrush or grey shrike-thrush, formerly commonly known as grey thrush, is a songbird of Australasia. It is moderately common to common in most parts of Australia, but absent from the driest of the inland deserts. It is also found in New Guinea.
The spectacled thrush, bare-eyed thrush, or yellow-eyed thrush, is a resident breeding bird in the Lesser Antilles and in South America from Colombia and Venezuela south and east to northern Brazil. In Trinidad and Tobago, this thrush is also known as big-eye grieve.
The thrush-like wren is a South American species of bird in the family Troglodytidae, the wrens. As suggested by its common and scientific name, its size and coloration are vaguely reminiscent of that of a thrush, although the general impression it gives in life is very different and not at all "thrush-like".
The slaty-backed nightingale-thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
The thrush-like antpitta is a species of bird in the antpitta family Grallariidae. It is found in Amazonia.
The pale-eyed thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae.
The Chiguanco thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in Ecuador and the Altiplano. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland and heavily degraded former forest.
The chestnut-bellied thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and heavily degraded former forest.
The great thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. It is considered as the largest thrush in South America. The great thrush's size distinguishes it from the several other uniform slaty-colored thrushes in its range. It inhabits subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and high-altitude shrubland, but can also make use of degraded forest and urban areas.
Hauxwell's thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The black-billed thrush is a bird in the family Turdidae native to Colombia and also scantily distributed across Venezuela, the Guiana Shield and the western Amazon.
Lawrence's thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Described in 1878 by George N. Lawrence as Turdus brunneus, a name that was already in use the species was therefore renamed as Turdus lawrencii by Elliott Coues in 1880. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical swamps.
The Andean slaty thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It was formerly considered conspecific with the blacksmith thrush, with the combined species known as slaty thrush.
The plumbeous-backed thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The red-throated thrush is a passerine bird in the thrush family. It is sometimes regarded as one subspecies of a polytypic species, "dark-throated thrush", black-throated thrush then being the other subspecies. More recent treatments regard the two as separate species. The scientific name comes from Latin. Turdus is "thrush" and the specific ruficollis is derived from rufus', "red", and collum, "neck".
The Ecuadorian thrush is a resident bird found in western South America in western Ecuador and far northwestern Peru. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the spectacled thrush, Turdus nudigenis, but has a narrower eyering, and is widely separated in range.
