White-throated Thrush (Turdus assimilis), Madera Canyon, Pima County

This White-throated Thrush was found and photographed by Linda Grant on 09 January 2019 and also photographed by Andrew Core and Chris McCreedy on the same date, by Stuart Healy on 12 January, and Mark Stratton, Brendan Galvin, and Ryan P. O'Donnell on 20 January 2019.

If accepted by the ABC would be a first state record. This species is a regular mid to high elevation breeder in Sonora north to the Yécora area and an altitudinal migrant with the species regularly moving to lower elevations in search of food in winter.

This thrush is uniformly  a cold brown with a white throat that is striped in dark brown. This individual also shows a thin yellow eye ring. Though thrushes are often kept in captivity, this species is often shy and this individual appears typical of the subspecies found in northwest Mexico. Based on the very pointed tail feathers, it also appears to be a second-year bird, which further supports it being a wild vagrant.

09 January 2019, photo by Linda Grant

 

09 January 2019, photo by Andrew Core

 

09 January 2019, photo by Chris McCreedy

 

12 January 2019, photo by Stuart Healy

 

20 January 2019, photo by Mark Stratton

 

20 January 2019, photo by Brendan Galvin

 

20 January 2019, photo by Ryan P. O'Donnell

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