Thrushes & Allies

Few distinctions in the world of bird families are as maddening as that between the thrushes and the Old World flycatchers: both families have large numbers of species, and morphological diversification over the millennia has created a great deal of overlap between them. Thrushes are generally long-bodied and strong-legged, with full chests, largish heads, and mid-sized bills. Most species are comfortable on the ground, where they often hop after buried invertebrate prey. Though they are most often attired in plumages of earth tones, with accents in rufous and contrasting streaks and spots of black and gray, some species are partially or entirely blue. Many have complex whistled and trilled songs with an ethereal resonance.