Thrushes and allies | Turdidae

Lijsters | Zorzales y mirlos | Thrushes and allies

Medium-sized birds with an upright carriage, long strong legs and a moderately long slender bill; this guide has 39 species in six genera. On the ground they work in short stages — a few hops, a halt to look and listen, then a strike — and besides earthworms and insects they eat many berries and fruits. The true thrushes (Turdus) range from the lowlands up to the páramo, where the Great Thrush is also common in villages and towns; in cloud forest solitaires (Myadestes, Entomodestes) and nightingale-thrushes (Catharus) sing, and from October to April thrushes from North America winter in the forests on the Andean slopes. The song is loud and fluting, built of repeated motifs and often delivered from a high perch, above all at dawn and dusk. The nest is a solid cup, in many species plastered inside with mud; young birds are spotted even where the adults are plain.