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Exploring the beautiful nature of California


California Nature: Thrushes


The Thrushes are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. There are 335 species world wide, 28 North American species, and 15 Californian species.

Thrushes are interesting birds because they can be so varied in both size and coloration. Smaller birds like the Hermit Thrush and Swainson's Thrush can be difficult to see, but instantly recognizable by their distinct songs. Many people consider thrushes the most beautiful-sounding songbirds in North America. Birders describe their songs as “airy,” “flutelike” and “haunting.” Each species of thrush has a distinctive pattern to its song.

Larger members like American Robins and Varied Thrushes can be easier to observe, with the latter more secretive than the former. American Robins can be found foraging in lawns across the U.S., while Varied Thrushes like to stick to the shaded tree tops. A group of thrushes are collectively known as a "hermitage" and a "mutation" of thrushes.
A member of the thrush family, the western bluebird enjoys life in california nature The Western Bluebird is a delicate little bird with a charming personality. It has the characteristic eye ring and rufus breast of the thrush family. It is not as bold as an American Robin. It has a temperament similar to that of the Hermit thrush, but occasionally gets irritated by other birds.

The Western Bluebird is a common sight in parklands of the West. Unlike the other species of bluebirds, it does not like large meadows, preferring open forests instead. Occasionally Western Bluebirds have helpers at the nest. Most of the extra birds attending nests are helping their presumed parents, some after their own nests have failed. Western Bluebirds can be helped by birds far beyond family members. Violet-green Swallows have been observed feeding and defending nests of Western Bluebirds.

Numbers of Western Bluebirds are declining in California and Arizona, as well as in other parts of range. This bluebird hunts from perches and drops onto ground to catch prey. Using both flycatching and gleaning, the Western bluebird may beat large prey against ground or branch before eating. Western bluebirds make their nest from dry grasses, straw, conifer needles, fur, string, or cedar bark strips, nesting in crevices between bark and stumps or other cavities in trees.
The Swainson's Thrush is a summer visitor along the coast of California. At night this bird migrates up from Mexico and Central America in the summer. They just come to visit us in the summer. The Swainson's Thrush uses dense brushy areas along the coast of California. In the inland valleys it frequents oak woodlands as well as riparian pant communities.

The Swainson's Thrush forages in the leaf litter for insects and spiders. They also glean them from shrubs. Adults are brown on the upperparts. The underparts are white with brown on the flanks; the breast is lighter brown with darker spots. They have pink legs and a light brown eye ring. This bird's song is a hurried series of flute-like tones spiraling upwards.

The Swainson’s Thrush has become alarmingly rare throughout the Sierra Nevada. They have become extirpated from many locations where they were formerly regularly breeding summer residents, such as Yosemite Valley and Whitaker’s Forest.
The american robin is a backyard favorite in Califonria nature The American Robin is a member of the Bluebird and Thrush family.  It's called the 'American' robin because it was named after a similar (though smaller) bird found in Great Britain. The male robin's most striking feature is  his red/orange breast and belly.  They have gray-brown back and tail feathers with a slightly darker head.  Their white throat is streaked with black and their undertail coverts are white. They have brown legs and a thin yellow bill that they use for pecking worms and insects out of the ground.

The female robin's coloring is quite similar to the male, but everything is a slightly paler color. The young robins also look similar, but have a heavily spotted breast. The main diet of the American Robin is berries. This is supplemented by insects, larva and worms. At times, the robin will cock its head to the side toward the ground.  It looks a bit like he's listening for the worms crawling under the ground, but really he's watching the ground for the tiny movements that would indicate a worm is traveling close to the surface.

The female robin is in charge of nest construction. She takes 2 to 6 days to make the nest, using mud mixed with grass or small twigs.  She uses her bill and feet to mould the nest into a cup shape and then adds a final lining of grass.
The song of the wood thrush is so beautiful it inspired Handel to write a piece of music in the bird's honor. There is no more lovely a sound than the loud, flute-like song, ending in a trill, of this songbird. 

The wood thrush is large and plump, reddish-brown above and whitish below, with large dark spots on its throat, breast and sides. It has a bold, white eye ring and its tail is short. It is often tied to shade-grown coffee plantations in South America for winter survival, since it requires shady areas. Spring brings it returning to North America to breed in moist deciduous forests.

The Wood Thrush is an omnivore, and feeds preferentially on soil invertebrates and larvae, but will also eat fruits. In the summer, it feeds on insects continuously in order to meet daily metabolic needs. It is solitary, but sometimes form mixed-species flocks.
Blackbirds    California Condor    Cardinals    Cranes    Crows, Jays, & Magpies   Eagles    Finches    Flycatchers    Hawks Hummingbirds    Owls    Game Birds    Raptors    Shore Birds    Sparrows    Tanager    Thrushes    Vultures    Wading Birds Warblers      Woodpeckers      Wrens
 
 
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