Birda Logo
Features
Birda+
About
Species Guide
Challenges
Shop
loading...
A photo of a Sooty Thrush (Turdus nigrescens)
Sooty Thrush

Sooty Thrush

Turdus nigrescens

The Sooty Thrush, known scientifically as Turdus nigrescens, is a robust bird endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama. It is a member of the Turdidae family, which it shares with other thrushes. The adult male is a striking brownish-black with black wings and tail, and a distinctive black area between the orange bill and the eye. The legs and bare eye ring are a vivid orange, and the iris is a pale grey. Females are similar but tend to be browner and somewhat paler, with yellow-orange bare parts. Juveniles can be identified by their resemblance to the adult female, but with buff or orange streaks on the head and upperparts, and dark spotting on the underparts.

Identification Tips

When identifying the Sooty Thrush, look for its average length of 24–25.5 cm and an average weight of 96 grams. The male's brownish-black plumage, black wings and tail, and the black area between the orange bill and eye are key characteristics. The orange legs and eye ring, along with the pale grey iris, are also distinctive. Females and juveniles are paler, with the juveniles displaying streaks and spotting.

Habitat

This species thrives in open areas and at the edge of oak forests, typically at altitudes above 2200 meters.

Distribution

The Sooty Thrush is found exclusively in the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama.

Behaviour

The Sooty Thrush exhibits behaviors similar to other thrushes, such as the American Robin. It forages on the ground, either alone or in pairs, moving in a series of hops and dashes with frequent pauses. It is known to turn over leaf litter in search of insects and spiders.

Song & calls

During the breeding season, the Sooty Thrush's song is a melodious and gurgling series of "chuweek chuweek seechrrzit seechrrzit seechrrzit seechrrzit tseeur tseeur tseeur tseeur." Its call is a grating "grrrrkk."

Breeding

The Sooty Thrush constructs a substantial grass-lined cup nest in a tree, usually 2–8 meters above the ground. The female lays two unmarked greenish-blue eggs between March and May.

Similar Species

Within its range, the Sooty Thrush may be confused with the Mountain Thrush, which is uniformly brown with dark bare parts, or the Clay-colored Robin, which is much paler with a yellow bill.

Diet and Feeding

The diet of the Sooty Thrush consists of insects, spiders, and small fruits. It has a particular fondness for the fruits of the Ericaceae and Solanum families.

Conservation status

The Sooty Thrush is currently listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, indicating that it is not at immediate risk of widespread decline.

App logo
Birda is a birdwatching app and community aimed at curious people who want to deepen their connection with nature.

Sooty Thrushes on Birda

Photos
Sightings

More Thrushes

Birda Logo

Your birdwatching journey like never before

Connect with nature in minutes
Take a walk, look out of the window and log the birds that you see. Feel good about those little connections to nature.
Discover the joy of birding
Find new birding spots, see more birds, share and celebrate with a like-minded community of nature lovers.
Play your part in saving nature
Logging your birding sightings and sessions turns into positive action for our planet. Every sighting counts.

Birda Blog

What Our Birders Say
Mike T
Sense of Community
A great app, which is continually being improved. What really comes through is the passion of those behind the app. The sense of community is brilliant, so much help and support provided to new and/or in experienced birders.
Jane N
A great app
Enjoying it immensely and finding it useful too. Recording the different birds and counting them is showing me how the present climate is affecting them all. I've trebled the numbers by planting native hedging. A great app.
Amylia S
Best app for any birding person!
I love this app!! I am so addicted to it when I saw it had 3 star review I was so sad! The app is awesome!! The best app for any birding person! ❤️
Talli A
My favourite app
As a young birdwatcher who was always keen to be apart of a community but never seemed to find one, my problem was solved downloading this!!! Everyone is so friendly and just as excited to see birds as me 😁
Ellesse_W
Learning Birding with Birda
I’m relatively new to birding as a hobby, and Birda is a great way to keep track off all the species I see. I’m still working on my ID skills, but the app is great for figuring out potential species, and the online community is so friendly and helpful. Definitely recommend Birda to both early and serious birders! 🐦
Abi.M
Awesome App
I really enjoy using this app! It is such a friendly community of bird-lovers who are happy to help if I need ID advice. It’s been great motivation to get outdoors and go birding more! 10/10 😍😍
Madstherangers
A mordern game changer
Birda is an awesome app, its updated the world of birding to the modern day with a fun and easy to use app. It’s engaging and allows positive interaction with fellow bird lovers!
Leonie
We've been waiting for an App like this
Excellent! We've been waiting for an app like this! Thank you! It would be nice if you could assign additional birds to sessions later!
Alex J
Friendly and helps to identify birds
Great birding app, good for logging your sightings, also has nice species guide. I'm enjoying the social aspect more than I expected, everyone seems friendly and helps to identify unknown birds. Good mix of newbies and experienced users.
Erna M
I really like Birda
I really like Birda. I also use other birding apps and have Birda with E-bird going at the same time.
As featured in
Birda Logo
AboutPressAmbassadorsAffiliatesInfluencersCareersPrivacyTerms & Conditions
An app for birdwatchers
Connect with us
Copyright © 2024 Chirp Birding. All rights reserved.