Washington, DC State Bird

Wood Thrush

(Hylocichla mustelina)

The Wood Thrush, Hylocichla mustelina, was adopted as the official Washington, DC bird.

Description

Length: 7 inches
Rusty crown, nape and upper back
White eye ring and streaked cheeks
White underparts with black spots throughout
Brown upperparts
Pink legs
Sexes similar
Juvenile has pale spots on upperparts
Often forages on forest floor
Distinctive beautiful song

The Wood Thrush is a medium-sized thrush with the posture of an American Robin but a slightly smaller body. Sexes are alike, and adults are a cinnamon-brown color on their crown and nape that fades to olive-brown on the back, wings and tail. The under-parts are white with large dark spots on the breast, sides and flanks. Overall, the head appears a much richer color than the rest of the top of the body, with the tail being the dullest in color. They have a dull white eye-ring and pinkish legs. Juveniles are similar to adults but with tawny streaks and spots on their back, neck and wing coverts.

The Wood Thrush resides in forests in the eastern United States where it is more often heard than seen.

Taxonomic Hierarchy
Kingdom	Animalia -- animals
Phylum	Chordata -- chordates
Subphylum	Vertebrata -- vertebrates
Class	Aves -- Birds
Order	Passeriformes -- perching Birds
Family	Muscicapidae -- old world flycatchers
Genus	Hylocichla Baird, 1864 -- wood thrushes
Species	Hylocichla mustelina (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) -- wood thrush, Zorzal maculado

Official State Birds

Birds & Flowers

Bird:

a. Any of the class Aves of warm-blooded, egg-laying, feathered vertebrates with forelimbs modified to form wings.
b. Such an animal hunted as game.
c. Such an animal, especially a chicken or turkey, used as food

State Bird:

a. Bird selected (as by the legislature) as an emblem of a state of the United States.

NOTE: Many states have more than one official bird, or have designate state birds more specifically.

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