Swainson's Thrush (or Olive-backed Thrush) – of the UK and Ireland

Photo credit: Minette Layne on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC

The Swainson’s Thrush, Catharus ustulatus, is a “mega rare” visitor to Britain and Ireland from North America. They normally migrate thousands of miles to their wintering grounds in South America. A few of these thrushes become lost in the autumn and fly to the shores of Britain and Ireland.

The first record of a Swainson’s Thrush in Britain was on Skokholm Island off the south coast of Wales in 1967. There have only been 41 records of Swainson’s Thrushes visiting Britain since 1967.

A Swainson’s Thrush was recently sighted along the coast of Shetland in Scotland in October 2019. A garden in Lerwick was the temporary home of a Swainson’s Thrush.

There was another report of a Swainson’s Thrush at St Mary’s in Scilly during October 2019 (Birdguids - https://www.birdguides.com/…/review-of-the-week-9-15-octob…/ ).

Two Swainson’s Thrushes were seen on at South Ulst in the Outer Hebrides and Tiree in the Inner Hebrides in September 2016.

Birdwatchers gathered to spy on a Swainson’s Thrush in Sanday in the Orkney Islands during October 2015.

The first record of a Swainson’s Thrush in Ireland was of a deceased bird at the Blackrock lighthouse in County Mayo during 1956. “To the end of 2014, there are just half a dozen accepted records: in Ireland (Rare Bird Alert- https://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/…/WeeklyRoundup2018-43.aspx… ). The last report of a Swainson’s Thrush was at Mizen Head in County Cork during October 2019.

The Swainson’s Thrush is also known as the Olive-backed Thrush.

The Swainson’s Thrush is a medium-sized Thrush with an olive-brown back and white underparts. They can grow up to 8 inches, or 20 centimetres, long and are renowned for their beautiful songs.

The main diet of the Swanson’s Thrush is insects, fruits and berries.

“The breeding habitat of Swainson’s Thrush is coniferous woods with dense undergrowth across Canada, Alaska and the northern United States, also deciduous wooded areas on the Pacific coast of North America “

Swainson’s Thrushes are long-distance migrants who fly “to southern Mexico and as far south as Argentina” in the autumn.

“The coastal subspecies migrate down the Pacific coast of North America and winter from Mexico to Costa Rica, whereas the continental birds migrate eastwards within North America and then travel southwards via Florida to winter from Panama to Bolivia” ( Daily Express - https://www.express.co.uk/…/Rare-species-visiting-bird-land… ).

The Swainson’s Thrush is classified as of Least Concern by IUCN.

The global population is thought to be decreasing although the trend is unknown.

For more information on the birds of the gardens and countryside of Britain and Ireland, please visit,

http://bird4u.mzzhost.com/index.html