District of Columbia State Bird - Wood Thrush

The Wood Thrush, Hylocichla mustelina, is a medium-sized thrush, the only member ot the genus Hylocichla.

The adult is 18.5 cm long and weighs 48 g. It is mainly brown on the upperparts, and rusty brown on the crown, nape and upper back. The underparts are white with black spots. It has a white eye ring and pink legs. It has a rich multi-part flute-like song.

The breeding habitat is deciduous or mixed woods across eastern North America. The nest is a cup in a fork or on a tree branch relatively close to the ground.

Wood Thrushes migrate to southern Mexico and Central America. They occur in western Europe only as extremely rare vagrants.

They mainly forage on the forest floor, flipping leaves to uncover insects. They eat insects and berries.

This bird's breeding range has expanded northward, displacing the Veery and Hermit Thrush in some locations. In recent times, as a result of fragmentation of forests, it has been increasingly exposed to nest parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds, as well as loss of habitat in the winter range.

The Wood Thrush is the official bird of the District of Columbia.