Swainson’s Thrush (New York, United States, 15 May 2020).
7 In shade, when colours can be hard to judge, Swainson’s can suggest the larger Song Thrush, but note the well- defined buff lores and eyering, creating the characteristic ‘spectacles’ of Swainson’s. The ear coverts are generally more solid in colour, lacking the darker lower border that gives Song Thrush a more ‘complicated’ facial pattern. The spotting is varied and concentrated across the upper breast, fading out towards the lower belly. It is less extensive than in Song Thrush which shows consistent tear- dropped shapes along the length of the lower belly and through the flanks, which are often more clearly buff-brown than the paler flanks of this Swainson’s. The bill is also slighter in Swainson’s with a pinkish, not yellow, base to the lower mandible.