Thrush (Bird): 21 Facts You Won’t Believe!

The thrush bird belongs to the family of Turdidae, a passerine bird family. They are found worldwide.

Thrushes are small to medium sized birds living on the ground that feed on insects or invertebrates and fruits. They are plump birds with soft plumage. They are found in wooded areas often on grounds looking for insects.

The smallest thrush is the forest rock thrush and the largest could be the great thrush. The Amami thrush may grow larger than the great thrush. They are mostly grey in color with speckles on their underparts.

They are mostly sedentary birds in the warmer regions and then the northern ones are strong migratory birds. The Turdidae help in the spreading of seeds and plants and contribute to the revival of the ecosystems.

There are 172 species of thrushes recognized by the International Ornithological Congress. 85 of them belong to the genus of Turdus and the rest are distributed among 16 other genera.

Some of the most popular types of thrush birds being song thrush, hermit thrush, and wood thrush. These breeding birds are slender billed songbirds with the tarsus which is the lower leg covered in a single long scale instead of many short ones.

These breeding birds are not brightly colored but may have a single patch of bright yellow, red or blue on their plain plumage.

These nesting birds are most diversely found in the old world, especially in Africa. Here are some interesting thrush facts for you, afterward do check out these hermit thrush facts and wood thrush facts as well.

Thrush Interesting Facts

What type of animal is the thrush bird?

The wood thrush is a species of small to medium sized songbirds found in most parts of the world. These nesting birds are known for their loud melodious voice. This species can be found in various colors such as red thrush bird, brown thrush bird, black thrush bird, and yellow thrush.

What class of animal does the thrush bird belong to?

The wood thrush belongs to the class of Aves or birds and is a known monogamous bird that is found worldwide, but most popular in the old world territory of Africa.

How many thrushes are there in the world?

It could be difficult to say the exact number, with so many varied species spread across the world. It would be nearly impossible to reach a particular number.

Where does the thrush bird live?

The wood thrush is found in most parts of the world in wooded areas or arboreal and terrestrial habitats. Wood thrushes can be found in almost all countries of the northern hemisphere.

This bird species sometimes nests in city parks and suburbs in bigger cities like New York. They can be seen on the forest floor and digging through the leaf litter.

What is thrush's habitat?

The wood thrush is found in arboreal or terrestrial habitats on the grounds looking for insects to eat. Thrushes found in the southern warmer region are mostly sedentary but the ones found in higher latitudes may migrate to warmer regions during winter. Wood thrush breeds in areas with large trees, moderate understory, shade, and abundant leaf litter for foraging.

Who do thrushes live with?

Song thrushes are known to be the single and solitary song of thrush birds. Wood thrushes make a union in foraging food and can be seen in flocks while migrating. Females lay around three to six eggs in the cup shaped nests.

How long does thrush live?

The thrush has an average life span of three years. These breeding birds are known to live till 10 years and eight months of age. The survival rate for the younger wood thrushes is pretty low.

How do they reproduce?

With its arrival at the nesting grounds, the male thrush establishes the territory. The female wood thrush likes to hide deep in mud and it builds a nest therein with a tree or a creeper beside it. They lay three to five eggs, with one egg being laid every day during the breeding season.

Female thrushes will start to incubate the eggs. The thrush eggs will hatch after 15-17 days into the nesting season. Only the female thrush brood the young chicks, but male and female thrush birds feed the young together.

There is a considerable loss of the eggs and nestlings. Studies have confirmed that only one third of the young survive.

They build cup shaped nests with mud lining sometimes. They may lay more than one clutch per year. The nest is placed on a lower branch in some cases.

What is their conservation status?

IUCN Red List considers this species as categorized under the status and report of Least Concern. The loss of habitat is one of the major reasons for the decline in population.

Thrush Fun Facts

What do thrushes look like?

They are plump birds with soft plumage. These North American birds are mostly grey in color with speckles on their underparts.

They are slender billed songbirds with the tarsus which is the lower leg covered in a single long scale instead of many short ones. They are not brightly colored but may have a single patch of bright yellow, red or blue on their plain plumage.

How cute are they?

Thrushes are definitely cute looking tiny birds that prefer to be left alone. These North American birds were kept as pets till the 19th century however with their declining population due to habitat loss has raised concerns for this cute songbird.

How do they communicate?

Most thrush birds have vocal communication skills and are known for their unique thrush bird song. Thrush bird call during the flight helps the birds contact with other birds.

How big is thrush?

Song thrush bird is a small to medium sized bird. The smallest thrush is the forest rock thrush and the largest could be the great thrush.

The amami thrush may grow even larger than the great thrush. The size for song thrush birds is usually in the range of 5.7-13.0 in (14.4-33.0 cm) and a wingspan of around 12-16 in (30.4-40.6 cm) across various subspecies.

How fast can thrush fly?

Wood thrushes can fly fairly high despite their small size, as they are migratory birds.

How much does thrush weigh?

The forest rock thrush is the smallest thrush that weighs around 0.75 oz (0.02 kg). And most of the species weigh around 4.5-6.2 oz (0.12-0.17 kg).

What are the male and female names of the species?

The male and female song thrush does not have a specific name. They are known as males and females respectively.

What would you call a baby thrush?

The baby song thrush is sometimes called a chick.

What do they eat?

These North American birds eat small insects, invertebrates like earthworms and snails; they also eat fruit. These North American birds are mostly insectivorous.

Are they rare?

Song thrush and most other thrush species are not rare and are found in most parts of the world.

Would they make a good pet?

Song thrush will make for a good pet as they are mostly sedentary birds with lovely voices.

Did you know...

Almost all thrush birds can sing. They are small birds that have been around for a long time.

What does a thrush bird symbolize?

The wood thrush is a symbol of solid healthy relationships. It signifies long term bonds and is known as a congratulatory animal totem.

Types of thrush birds

There are 172 species of thrushes recognized by the International Ornithological Congress. 85 of them belong to the genus of Turdus and the rest are distributed among 16 other genera.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these varied thrush facts and song thrush facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our wood thrush coloring pages.