Great Thrush: how to recognise it
A bird of South America. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © brewmaster · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Turdus fuscater
- Family
- Thrushes
- Size
- About 30 cm
- Habitat
- Andean forest, scrub, parks and gardens
- Found in
- South America
The key marks
Large, sooty dark brown thrush with a bright orange-yellow bill and orange legs. Eurasian Blackbird is smaller, the male is truly black with a yellow eye-ring and the legs are dark; the Great Thrush lives in the Andes.
Voice
A loud, rich, musical song of repeated phrases.
Good to know
One of the most widespread thrushes of the Andes, found from forest up to high grassland and in city parks. It eats fruit and earthworms.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Eurasian Blackbird. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in andean forest, scrub, parks and gardens. It is especially common in Ecuador and Colombia. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.