nightingale thrush

▪ bird

 any of 11 species of thrushes of the New World genus Catharus (family Turdidae). They are of slender build and have rather drab plumage and rich songs—qualities reminiscent of the European nightingale. In some tropical species, the eye rims, bill, and legs are orange, and the underparts are unspotted; an example is the slaty-backed nightingale thrush (C. fuscater), 16 cm (6.5 inches) long, of mountain forests from Costa Rica to Bolivia. In more northerly species, sometimes placed in the genus Hylocichla, the eye rims are whitish, the bill is dark, and the underparts are spotted. An example is the hermit thrush (C. guttatus), 18 cm (7 inches) long, a famous singer that is found in Canadian and U.S. coniferous woodlands. Common in eastern broadleaf forests of the United States is a spotted, rusty-headed form, the wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), 20 cm (8 inches) long.

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