Townsend's Solitaire - BirdForum Opus

Myadestes townsendi

Photo by Steve Messick
Crow Valley Camp Ground, North-east Colorado, USA

Photo of Juvenile by Stanley Jones
Kaibab National Forest, Arizona, July, 1983

Identification

20-22 cm

• Dull grey plumage
• White eyering
• White outer tail feathers
• Short, wide, black bill
• Wings

• Dark grey
• Wide band of buff at the base
• Tertials edged white

• Black legs
  

Sexes similar
Juvenile: black, white, and buff spots

Distribution

Canada, western United States and Mexico.

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

Two subspecies are recognized:

• M. t. townsendi:

• Central Alaska to western US, Baja California and northwest Mexico

• M. t. calophonus:

• Northern Mexico (Chihuahua to Durango, Jalisco and Zacatecas)

Habitat

Coniferous and open forests and woodlands up to 9000 ft. Mixed undergrowth, thickets, brush, juniper-sage savana and meadows. Rocky cliffs and sea shores.

Behaviour

Diet

Includes insects, spiders, some berries. In winter mainly eats junipers berries.

Breeding

A platform of twigs supports the cup-shaped nest which is formed from pine needles lined with grass and bark. It is placed on the ground or cliff overhang. The clutch consists of 1-6, heavily blotched, white, pink or greenish-blue eggs.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. All About Birds
3. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Townsend's Solitaire. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 13 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Townsend%27s_Solitaire

External Links

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