THRUSHES AND CHATS: Turdidae

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Thrushes have a varied appearance among their vast number of species, though some basic characteristics are common to all. They average in size from about 5 to 13 inches (12 to 33 centimeters) and are categorized as small to medium in size. The smaller species are known as chats.

Birds of this family are known for their upright posture and bills that tend to be thin and have no curves with a very slight hook. Their wings are rounded, except for in the species that are true migrants, which have longer and more pointed wingtips out of necessity for their long flights. The outermost wings are usually very short. Their tails are generally not very long and often short with square tips.

Some adult species show no marked differences between the male and female. Others vary significantly. For example, blackbirds include males that are jet-black and females that are pale brown. On the other hand, male and female song thrushes are identical in appearance. Thrushes in general are woodland songbirds that do not have any pronounced ornamentation in terms of crests, ruffs, or other feathered features. The variety of colors among the species is often stunning with marked but subtle tones. The color can range from muted brown on top with a paler shade on the spotted underside, to those with red heads, gray rears and cheeks, to those with a variable blue and blue-gray with a deep orange to rusty-red underneath and on the tail. Some tropical varieties might be electric blue and white, as well as others that are a mixture of deep colors of orange, black, white, and gray with varying patterns that include spots and streaks of colors.

GEOGRAPHIC RANGE

Thrushes and chats are widely distributed throughout the world except in desert regions or those far northern regions that are not woodland areas. They can be found in the new and old worlds, in the islands of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans, in North America and through Europe and Asia to the tips of South America, Africa, and Australia.

HABITAT

Thrushes live primarily in forests, or in cultivated areas where trees are plentiful. The habitat range of the different species can vary widely, from very specific requirements to very broad. The American robin, for instance, is very adaptable and lives in parks, forests, gardens, backyards, and in farm areas. Other species might live in high-altitude mountainsides, or areas that have been recently burned. One species, the nightingale in Europe, requires the specific habitat of dense thicket. In general, the populations of thrushes and chats are known throughout the world for their adaptable living conditions.

DIET

Thrushes in general are omnivores eating a wide variety of both plants and animals. Their diet includes earthworms and larvae (LAR-vee), beetles or other insects, berries, and fruit. One species, the rock thrush, feeds entirely on animals. This family of birds tends to forage, search, on the ground or in bushes for their food. In winter they gather food together in large flocks. A typical thrush feeding habit is their movement across the ground in continuing short and bouncy hops, as they pause to listen and look for signs of worms under the surface. As they tilt their heads from side to side in determining this, once discovered, they then swing forward to pick up their prey with their bills.

BEHAVIOR AND REPRODUCTION

In addition to their feeding on the ground, thrushes usually remain close to the ground most of the time, staying under the cover of forest or scrub. In order to find invertebrates, animals without a backbone, to eat, they scratch with their feet and turn over dead leaves and other debris with their bills. Thrushes and chats tend to be territorial birds during breeding, using their song to attract mates and to warn off any males that might be intending to interfere in their territory. In winter and for migration, some species form into large flocks. Thrushes prefer the shelter of warm and dry spots at night. Non-breeding birds might roost alone; many roost in communes; and still others are known to roost in groups of hundreds. The fieldfare has been observed roosting in flocks of 20,000—a mixed-thrush group found roosting in France one winter held 200,000 birds. Such roosts for all of these birds tend to be in dense thickets with temperatures even both inside and out, with minimum exposure to wind or other elements. The rock thrushes do roost alone in rock crevices or in high tree branches, and sometimes even inside the roofs of old, secluded buildings. Ring ouzels also roost alone, but among rocks and boulders.

Breeding begins when the birds are one year old, and these birds tend to remain monogamous (muh-NAH-guh-mus; having only one mate) for the mating season. On occasion, both male and female might mate with others. The males sing during the breeding season, usually perched in a visible spot or in the tree canopy.

The typical nest is shaped as an open cup that has been lined with grassy material and sticks. Sometimes mud is used to hold it together better. Some nests are placed in trees or other objects—American robins are known to place nests in the rafters of old buildings, or even into the secure roofs of porches and doorways, including such unusual places as traffic lights, or in boats or cars that are in regular use so they can access the nest freely. Some species build their nest on the ground or in tree cavities. The female is almost entirely responsible for building the nest, and it is usually preserved for a second brood of birds. The clutch can number from two to ten eggs, though it is usually four to five. One female incubates (warms enough for hatching) the birds for ten to seventeen days. Many species have two broods per year, and some have three or more. Survival of the chicks can often be at risk. All but one or two of a large brood might survive, with the others dying through disease, predators, starvation, or accident.

THRUSHES, CHATS, AND PEOPLE

Throughout much of southern and Mediterranean Europe, especially in Spain, Italy, and Greece, these birds are prized as food delicacies. They are caught and killed in large numbers and offered on restaurant menus and sold in supermarkets, either bottled or as thrush paté. The practice has been going on for centuries. While no exact determination has been made regarding the threat this might be to the species, none are in short supply. Elsewhere in Western Europe, people prize such features as the song of the nightingale and have honored the birds through song and poetry. Many of these birds are among the best-loved garden birds throughout the world.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Many species of thrushes are plentiful and show no signs of becoming extinct (dying out). Certain others continue to be studied, particularly the song thrush in Britain, due to a serious decline in their numbers in the decades at the end of the twentieth century. The decline involves the problems of survival of the young chicks, as well as the ability for some birds to produce a second brood. Some habitats have been compromised through extensive farming, and in Britain through development. No such apparent threat existed in the rest of Europe, where the numbers remained high in the early years of the twenty-first century. Some species have been on the brink of extinction due to the introduction of predators, or change of habitat. In the Seychelles (islands off of Africa in the Indian Ocean), for instance, coconut plantations have replaced the natural forest habitat of the magpie-robin, and the introduction of such predators as cats and rats brought danger to the bird populations. Some recovery was made possible through the very intense efforts of conservationists.

EASTERN BLUEBIRD (Sialia sialis): SPECIES ACCOUNTS

Physical characteristics: Eastern bluebirds have a length of 5.4 to 7.1 inches (13.9 to 17.8 centimeters). The adult male has a bright blue head and upperparts. Its throat, the sides of its neck, and its breast and flanks are colored orange, with a white belly. Females are duller blue with a crown and back that is gray in tone. Its eyes have white rings around them. Also in the female, the throat, breast, and sides are browner in color compared to the male's orange. Young birds tend to have gray-brown upperparts with white spotting on the back, as well as a brown chest with white scalloping, wings and tail that are blue in tint, with a white belly and undertail feathers.

Geographic range: The Eastern bluebird can be found in eastern North America, as far north as Hudson Bay, as far west as Arizona and the Rocky Mountains, and south to Bermuda, Florida, and central Mexico.

Habitat: The Eastern bluebird prefers the comforts of forest edges, open woodlands, farmland edges, or meadows, avoiding densely wooded or highly populated areas.

Diet: Eastern bluebirds are omnivores. In winter they eat fruit, particularly berries. Throughout the rest of the year they prefer eating insects, earthworms, snails, and other invertebrates.

Behavior and reproduction: Eastern bluebirds tend to group in pairs of families, and perch upright on exposed branches or at the tops of trees. In the winter they tend to be very sociable and form large flocks, roosting communally. They look for food on the ground, in foliage, or even in the air.

Eastern bluebirds tend to be monogamous, usually having two broods a year, and sometimes three. They nest in tree cavities, or holes—sometimes it might be in a cavity abandoned by a woodpecker. The female constructs the nest from dry grasses and weeds or pine needles, lining it with grass and sometimes with hair or fur. She lays three to six eggs that are mostly pale blue, though they can also be white. The female incubates the eggs for twelve to fourteen days. When the young are hatched, they are helpless, naked, and blind, and must stay in the nest where they are nourished and cared for by both parents. They grow their flight feathers about fifteen to twenty days after hatching, and remain in the nest for a few weeks after. If the female is preparing for the second brood, the male will take over the care of the young fledglings. In the case of the second brood, the young from the first also join in their care as well.

Eastern bluebirds and people: Eastern bluebirds tend to stay away from densely populated areas, and have no specific connection with humans.

Conservation status: Though no longer threatened as a species, some numbers were declining at the end of the twentieth century— up to 90 percent—due to the loss of nesting cavities, possibly due to the removal of dead trees and branches by humans, or in competition for nesting spots with house sparrows and European starlings. Efforts to stop the eastern bluebirds' decline, such as the introduction of nesting boxes, have helped significantly in many areas. ∎

STONECHAT (Saxicola torquata): SPECIES ACCOUNTS

Physical characteristics: The stonechat has a length of 4.9 inches (12.5 centimeters) with a weight of 0.46 to 0.6 ounces (13 to 17 grams). The males have black heads with orange breasts, and white patches on the sides of the neck that cover a large area. The females and young birds are similar in appearance, and have brown heads as well as less pronounced shades of orange and white.

Geographic range: The stonechat can be found throughout Britain and Ireland; in Europe from Denmark south to the Iberian peninsula and east to the Black Sea; in the Middle East; in certain local areas of Arabia; in Japan and China; and scattered throughout the southern parts of Africa. Some have been spotted in spring and summer as far north as Alaska.

Habitat: Stonechats prefer to live in rough grassland with thorny scrub, as well as in recently cultivated areas, forest clearings with bushy undergrowth, and along open coastal areas above rocky shores and cliffs.

Diet: Stonechats tend to be carnivores, feeding on insects and other small invertebrates.

Behavior and reproduction: Stonechats live in pairs or family groups, perching on open bush tops or on the stems of tall grasses, as well as on overhead wires. They are known for their frequent and harsh calls that sound like scoldings. In breeding, they are monogamous and territorial. They build their nests close to the ground in dense growth, and keep them hidden and sheltered from the sun. Their nests are built from grass stems with an entrance tunnel. The female lays four to six eggs, incubating them for thirteen to fourteen days. Newly hatched young grow their flight feathers after thirteen days.

Stonechats and people: Stonechats have no special significance to humans.

Conservation status: Stonechats are not considered threatened. ∎

AMERICAN ROBIN (Turdus migratorius): SPECIES ACCOUNTS

Physical characteristics: The American robin has a range in length of 9.8 to 11 inches (25 to 28 centimeters). Males weigh an average of 2.1 to 3.2 ounces (59 to 91 grams); females weigh between 2.5 to 3.3 ounces (72 to 94 grams), and thus are usually larger than males. Both males and females have dark, brownish gray upperparts. Males have black heads and females have heads that are black and brownish gray. Eye rings are white; bills are yellow; and breasts are brick red in the male and chestnut-orange in the female. The lower belly and undertail feathers are white. The tail is dark with white outer corners. Young birds look similar to adults but have white markings on their backs and shoulders, and heavy spotting on their underparts.

Geographic range: The American robin can be found throughout Canada, Alaska, the United States, and Mexico. It winters south of its breeding range, usually in the Bahamas and Guatemala.

Habitat: The American robin prefers to inhabit damp forests and woodlands throughout its territorial range, from the tundra to gardens, parks, in local shrubs, throughout farmland with hedges, and in scattered woods.

Diet: The American robin is an omnivore, feeding on fruits, berries, grass seeds, and many invertebrates including beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, snails, spiders, and earthworms.

Behavior and reproduction: This bird is frequently seen feeding on the ground. Outside of breeding season, the birds create large roosts and flocks in winter. They breed between April and August, with their nests often being large and messy. Nests are made of grass, twigs, stems, and string, and lined with mud and fine grass. The female lays three to four bright blue eggs that are incubated for eleven to fourteen days. She has two broods during the season.

American robins and people: The American robin is a very common and easily recognized bird, often seen pulling earthworms up from lawns and gardens. It is significant to North American people as a popular sign of spring, and was once hunted for meat in the southern United States.

Conservation status: This species is not considered to be threatened. ∎

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Books:

Alsop, Fred J. III. Birds of North America. Smithsonian Books. London and New York: Dorling Kindersley Publishing, 2001.

Campbell, Brude, and Elizabeth Lack, eds. A Dictionary of Birds. Vermillion, SD: Buteo Books, 1985.

Fisher, James, and Roger Tory Peterson. The World of Birds. Garden City, NJ: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1964.

Web sites:

"All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, Eastern Bluebird." Discover Life in America. http://www.dlia.org/atbi/species/animals/vertebrates/birds (accessed on May 11, 2004).

"Family Turdidae (Thrushes)." Animal Diversity Web. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Turdidae.html (accessed on June 13, 2004).

Roberson, Don. "Thrushes, Turdidae." CREAGRUS@Monterey Bay. http://www.montereybay.com/creagrus/thrushes.html (accessed on May 11, 2004).

"Thrushes, Robins." Birds of the World. http://www.eeb.cornel.edu/winkler/botw/turdidae.html (accessed on May 11, 2004).