Varied thrush

The varied thrush is a bird in the thrush family Turdidae and the only species in the monotypic genus Ixoreus, formally described by German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789 as Turdus naevius. Four subspecies are recognized across western North America from Alaska to interior Pacific regions. It is a fairly large thrush, 20 to 26 centimeters long with a wingspan of 34 to 42 centimeters and a weight of 65 to 100 grams, similar in size to the American robin but on average shorter with a heavier, more robust build; males show intense orange and black plumage, with curved grey patterns on the breast and throat, a grey blue tail and crown, and dark streaking on the flight feathers, while females have less distinct, greyer brown plumage. The species breeds in western North America from Alaska to northern California, most commonly in dense, older conifer forest at high elevations, and is partly migratory, with northern populations moving south and others shifting to lower elevations for winter, occasionally reaching towns, orchards and thickets and rarely as far as the eastern states. It is predominantly insectivorous during the breeding season, feeding on ground dwelling arthropods, and shifts to fruits, seeds and acorns such as snowberry, huckleberry and salmonberry in migration and winter. The IUCN lists the species as Least Concern.