Bicknell's Thrush

BirdNote^® 
Bicknell’s Thrush 
By Bryan Pfeiffer

This is BirdNote.

At a mountain summit in Vermont, among gnarled and stunted spruce and fir, dawn breaks with this unique sound... 

          [Bicknell’s Thrush]

...the swirling serenade of a Bicknell’s Thrush. Corduroy-brown above and pale below, with messy spots on its breast, the thrush isn’t really known for its good looks. It’s known for scarcity and promiscuity.

          [Bicknell’s Thrush]

Unlike most songbirds, the female thrush establishes a territory and then mates with males that happen by. She then lays eggs that have been fertilized by multiple different males. Many of those males will stick around and help feed the young, even if they are not their own.

Bicknell’s Thrushes are exceedingly rare. And they face an uncertain future with climate change and habitat loss. Yet, each year, this little songbird makes the long journey from the Caribbean Islands to the forests of the northeastern coasts of North America to make a call that a few of us may be lucky enough to hear in person.

          [Bicknell’s Thrush]

For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.

Support for BirdNote is provided by Sarah Merner and Craig McKibben from Seattle, Washington — and generous listeners around the world.

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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Producer: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Ariana Remmel
Content Director: Jonese Franklin

Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. ML77213 BITH  Recordist C Marantz
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2020 BirdNote   August 2020 / September 2025   Narrator: Michael Stein

ID#  BITH-01-2020-08-25    BITH-01

References:
https://mountainbirds.vtecostudies.org/birds/bicknells-thrush/
https://vtecostudies.org/projects/mountains/international-bicknells-thr…