Sooty Thrush
Turdus nigrescens
The Sooty Thrush (Turdus nigrescens) is a rare thrush found in 2 countries, weighing about 96 g. The sooty thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae, the thrushes and allies.
About the Sooty Thrush
The sooty thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae, the thrushes and allies. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. It was formerly known as the sooty robin.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The sooty thrush is 24 to 25.5 cm (9.4 to 10 in) long and weighs about 96 g (3.4 oz). The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males have a mostly brownish black head and body with sooty black lores and an orange eye-ring. Their wings and tail are also sooty black. Adult females resemble males but are browner overall and sometimes have some darker streaks on the throat. Both sexes have a white iris, a yellow-orange bill, and orange legs and feet. Juveniles have dark brown upperparts with buff streaks and buff underparts with dark brown spots. Voice: The sooty thrush's song is "relatively poor, a series of short phrases each repeated 3–6 times with a few seconds’ pause...chuweek chuweek chuweek...seechrrrzit seechrrrzit seechrrrzit...tseeur tseeu tseeur tseeur". Its calls include a "distinctive low grating grrrek or trrrr" that is often repeated, a "thin rolling prrreee", and a "harsh tchweerp, tchweerp".
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, November, December, with peak activity in March. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Sooty Thrush?
- The sooty thrush is 24 to 25.5 cm (9.4 to 10 in) long and weighs about 96 g (3.4 oz). Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Sooty Thrush?
- The Sooty Thrush is a medium sized bird weighing about 96 g.
- Where can you see a Sooty Thrush?
- The Sooty Thrush occurs in 2 countries, including Costa Rica and Panama.
- What birds look similar to a Sooty Thrush?
- The Sooty Thrush is most easily confused with the Grey-winged Blackbird, the Black-throated Thrush and the Eyebrowed Thrush.
- Is the Sooty Thrush endangered?
- The Sooty Thrush is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Sooty Thrush for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
Play BeakBrainEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.