Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush vs Yellow-throated Nightingale-Thrush

Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush

Catharus mexicanus

Small33 gForest

The black-headed nightingale-thrush is 15 to 16.5 cm (5.9 to 6.5 in) long and weighs about 30 g (1.1 oz). Adult males of the nominate subspecies C. m. mexicanus have a black crown and a dark gray face with a bright orange eye-ring. Their upperparts are olive-brown. Their throat is white with faint dark streaks, their breast and flanks pale grayish brown, and their belly and vent white. Adult females are similar to males but have a browner head and breast. Subspecies C. m. cantator is slightly smaller than the nominate with a much grayer face and throat and an olive wash on the breast. C. m. Voice: The black-headed nightingale-thrush sings mostly at dawn, dusk, and in the afternoon. Its song is "a series of rapid, thin, flute-like but slightly tinny, fuzzy phrases...e.g. dleet-dloo-dlee-dlee". Its calls include a "harsh complaining upslurred mew, rreahr, meahh or dzeeeet", a "hard dry rattle or trill when agitated", a "soft blurred pseeer", a "slow plaintive chowrr", "grrr", and "meww".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Andre Knocklein · CC BY 4.0

Yellow-throated Nightingale-Thrush

Catharus dryas

Small38 gForest

The yellow-throated nightingale-thrush is 17 to 19 cm (6.7 to 7.5 in) long and weighs 36 to 44 g (1.3 to 1.6 oz). Adult males of the nominate subspecies C. d. dryas have a mostly black head with an orange eye-ring and a buff chin and upper throat. Their upperparts are dull olive-gray. Their lower throat, breast, and upper belly are apricot-yellow with olive spots, their flanks grayish, and their lower belly and vent are whitish. Adult females are dark grayish on the back of their crown and head and have more olive upperparts than males. Subspecies C. d. harrisoni and C. d. Voice: The yellow-throated nightingale-thrush's song is somewhat variable though each individual appears to have a single song. Examples are "a scratchy warbling series of sharp whistles and buzzes: chit-TSEE!-tah'wert-PEE'tseee-Cheet or TSIP!Tseee-cheet-tsee'weet". The song lasts about two seconds.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: (c) Christoph Moning, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Christoph Moning · cc-by

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush and Yellow-throated Nightingale-Thrush.