The Thrushes: Family Turdidae

Turdidae: Thrushes

Imagine lying in a grassy field on a summer day with the warm sun shining down on your body. Listen to the sounds. The bees are buzzing and the birds are calling. Try to think of a bird song, your favorite bird song if you have one. We all unconsciously associate certain bird songs with home. For a lot of people, the song of the American Robin sounds like home. Westerners tend to recognize Hermit thrushes and Swainson’s thrushes. In any case, the most beautiful and recognizable sounds come from the Thrushes.

Thrushes are smaller, plump-looking birds with soft downy feathers. They build cup-shaped nests and most lay speckled eggs… mmm speckled eggs. Most thrushes are insectivorous, feeding on the ground, but some will eat fruits and berries too.

The Thrush family contains about 20 genera and over 130 species. Genera include:

Genus Turdus (True thrushes)
Genus Nesocichla (Tristan Thrush or Starchy)
Genus Cichlherminia (Forest Thrush)
Genus Psophocichla (Groundscraper Thrush)
Genus Zoothera (Asian thrushes)
Genus Catharus (American thrushes and nightingale-thrushes)
Genus Hylocichla (Wood Thrush)
Genus Ridgwayia (Aztec Thrush)
Genus Ixoreus (Varied Thrush)
Genus Geomalia (Geomalia)
Genus Cataponera (Sulawesi Thrush)
Genus Sialia (Bluebirds)
Genus Grandala (Grandala)
Genus Cichlopsis (Rufous-brown Solitaire)
Genus Entomodestes (Solitaires)
Genus Myadestes (Solitaires)
Genus Neocossyphus (Flycatchers and Ant-thrushes)
Genus Cochoa (Cochoas)
Genus Chlamydochaera (Fruit-hunter)
Genus Chaetops: (Rock-jumpers)

One of the most amazing aspects of bird calls, is the bird's ability to produce two different tones simultaneously. Cornell Labs has great links to hear some of the beautiful sounds that thrushes can make.