Grey-cheeked Thrush
Catharus minimus
The gray-cheeked thrush is slightly larger than other Catharus thrushes, about 16 to 17 cm (6.7 in) in height and weighing between 26 and 30g. Wingspan ranges from 12.6-13.4 in (32-34 cm). The bird can be identified by its grayish face, partial pale eyering, drab gray-brown upperside and extensively dusky flanks. The area between the eye and the beak is grayish as well, but the area running from the beak to above the eye is grayish white. The gray-cheeked thrush is nearly identical to the Bicknell's Thrush. Voice: The vocalizations of the gray-cheeked thrush are the most reliable way to identify it, compared to the Bicknell's Thrush. It has a complex song of burry flute-like notes, usually inflecting downward at the end. It resembles a descending spiral like the veery (Catharus fuscescens), but higher, thinner, and nasal with stuttering pauses: "ch-ch zreeew zi-zi-zreeee zizreeew".
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush
Catharus aurantiirostris
The orange-billed nightingale-thrush is 15.5 to 17 cm (6.1 to 6.7 in) long and weighs 21 to 32 g (0.74 to 1.1 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies C. a. aurantiirostris are olive-brown with a rufous tinge on their crown, nape, back, rump, wings, and tail. The rufous is strongest on the last three areas. Their face is grayish brown with a thin orange eye-ring. Their throat is whitish that darkens to pale gray on the rest of the underparts. They have a long, strong, orange bill and brownish orange legs and feet. Voice: The orange-billed nightingale thrush usually sings from dense cover. Its song varies among the subspecies. In northern Central America it is "a scratchy warbling series of sharp whistles and buzzes:chit-TSEE!-tah'wert-PEE'tseee-Cheet or TSIP!-Tseee-cheet-tsee'weet". There its calls are "a sharp, high-pitched whistle, tsseeeeeee" and, as a contact call, "a catlike rreeahhhh".
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where you might meet both
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Play today's Daily BirdPhotos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Grey-cheeked Thrush and Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush.