THRUSH  

Thrushes, family Turdidae, comprise more than 300 species of SONGBIRDS, including some of the world's best-known birds: the American robin, Turdus migratorius; the European blackbird, T. merula; bluebirds, genus Sialia; and the nightingale, Luscinia megarhynchos. A number of other birds not in the thrush family also have the word thrush as part of their common name. Thrushes are found throughout the world, except in New Zealand and Antarctica, but are most numerous in the Old World. Many species are migratory.

Thrushes are from 10 to 33 cm (4 to 13 in) long and have stout legs--with a characteristic scale arrangement called a booted tarsus--and stout feet. Many of the adults are brownish and often spotted; the young are at least partially spotted. The birds feed mainly on insects, but they also eat fruit. The female alone usually builds an open, cup-shaped nest of grass, leaves, and moss and incubates the two to six pale-colored, often spotted eggs.

The wood thrush, Hylocichla mustelina, is a familiar North American thrush. It has cinnamon upper parts, a spotted white breast and sides, and is known for its flutelike song.