Bicknell's Thrush Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesBicknell's Thrush
Adult
Medium-sized brown thrush with a plain (unstreaked) brown face and little to no eyering. Extremely similar to Gray-cheeked Thrush and best distinguished by voice.
© Darren Clark / Macaulay LibraryNew Hampshire, June 05, 2017Adult
Medium-sized thrush with a plain brown face. Breeds in mountain forests with windblown and stunted balsam fir.
© Alex Berryman / Macaulay LibraryNew Hampshire, June 15, 2019Adult and juvenile
Plain brown thrush that usually shows very little eyering. Tail is slightly warmer brown than the back. Nests in stunted evergreen forests on mountaintops.
© James Goetz / Macaulay LibraryVermont, January 01, 2008Not all videos have sound
Adult
Slender brown thrush that breeds in mountains of eastern Canada and winters in the Greater Antilles.
© Jim Tietz / Macaulay LibraryOuest, February 14, 2017Adult
Spotted below with a brown face. Often stays hidden among dense vegetation.
© Christian Hagenlocher / Macaulay LibraryVermont, June 28, 2020Adult
Plain brown thrush with thin eyering and bold spots on the breast. Breeding range does not overlap with Gray-cheeked Thrush, but during migration the two species can occur together and are best distinguished by voice.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryNew Jersey, May 01, 1998Not all videos have sound
Similar SpeciesGray-cheeked Thrush
Adult/immature
Gray-cheeked Thrushes look very similar to Bicknell's Thrushes and often cannot be separated in the field based on field marks. The best way to separate them is by voice.
© Dick Dionne / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 26, 2014Similar SpeciesHermit Thrush
Adult
Hermit Thrushes have a much brighter cinnamon tail and the contrast between the back and tail color is stronger than Bicknell's Thrushes.
© Yves Gauthier (Mtl) / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, April 18, 2014Similar SpeciesSwainson's Thrush
Adult (Olive-backed)
Swainson's Thrushes have a yellowish buffy wash on the face and throat that Bicknell's do not have. They also have a stronger eyering than Bicknell's Thrushes.
© Shawn Billerman / Macaulay LibraryWyoming, May 14, 2016Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Thrushes and Allies(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Turdidae)
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