Bicknell’s Thrush
Photo: Richard Crossley · CC BY-SA 3.0

Thrushes and Allies

Bicknell’s Thrush

Catharus bicknelli

VUVulnerable
Family
Thrushes and Allies (Turdidae)
Order
Passeriformes

Overview

Bicknell's thrush (Catharus bicknelli) is a medium-sized thrush, at 17.5 cm (6.9 in) and 28 g (0.99 oz). One of North America's rarest and most localized songbirds, it breeds on coniferous mountain tops and disturbed habitats of northeastern North America. While very similar in appearance and vocalization to the gray-cheeked thrush (Catharus minimus), the two species differ slightly in their morphology and vocalizations, although they have with completely different breeding ranges. It was named after Eugene Bicknell, an American amateur ornithologist, who made the first scientific discovery of the species on Slide Mountain in the Catskills in the late 19th century.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Range and habitat

Breeds in eastern Canada (eastern Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick) and adjacent USA (eastern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine); winters mainly in Hispaniola, and locally eastern Cuba, eastern Jamaica, and eastern Puerto Rico.

Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.