Creamy-bellied Thrush

Chunky bird with broad, triangular wings and short, decurved bill. Male dark gray above, pale below, with a black face and throat and very pale underwings. Female with fainter mask and slight rusty wash to breast. Often forages very high up in enormous flocks, sometimes mixed in with White-browed Woodswallows.

Uncommon thrush-sized bird found in open and patchy habitats across much of northern North America and northeastern Asia. Adults are pale gray above with a black mask, black wings with small white patch at base of primaries, often with faint grayish barring on underparts. Young birds are browner and more heavily barred than adults, with reduced white in wing and more diffuse dark mask. Breeds in open shrubby forest and willow thickets; in winter can be found in dunes, brushy fields, or hedgerows in agricultural areas. Usually seen singly, often perched conspicuously on a snag or powerline. In North America, may overlap with Loggerhead Shrike in winter. Northern is slightly larger, paler, and shows more white around the eye. Carnivorous habits make shrikes unique among passerines; they feed on rodents and small birds. Undulating flight; watch for white patches in the wings.

A partridge-like bird with an olive upper body, a mostly gray underside, and broad chestnut bands across the back and wings. Also note the white base to the undertail. Terrestrial, inhabiting forest in lowlands and hills, but most often seen by visiting specific beaches where they come to lay their eggs in the sand at night. The only patridge-like species in range with broad chestnut bands above. Vocalizations, mostly at night, include a moaning “kouw-kouw-kouw” and harsh, agitated “kek” calls.