Bicknell's Thrush

Catharus bicknelli

Breeds only on a handful of fog-soaked mountaintops in the Northeast. One of the rarest songbirds on the continent.

Population: roughly 100,000–120,000 mature individuals globally (U.S. ~70,000, Canada ~40,570–49,568), declining ~3.9%/year since 2010
Habitat: High-elevation balsam fir/spruce forests (typically above ~915 m) with dense, stunted, wind- and ice-disturbed growth on breeding grounds; broadleaf and second-growth mountain forests in winter
Fun fact: Bicknell's Thrush has an unusual polygynandrous mating system in which a female may mate with several males, and up to four males may help feed nestlings at a single nest — with no strict male territoriality, several males can be heard singing from the same patch of forest within the same hour.
Range: Breeds in a fragmented "sky island" distribution across the Adirondacks, Catskills, and mountains of northern New England (NY, VT, NH, ME), plus southeastern Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia; winters almost entirely in the Greater Antilles, with roughly 90% on Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), and smaller numbers in Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico
Diet: Primarily insects and other invertebrates (beetles, ants, caterpillars), gleaned from foliage and the forest floor during breeding season; adds wild fruits/berries from midsummer through winter (winter diet shows sexual segregation — males eat more insects, females more fruit)
Size: 0.17 m
Wingspan: 0.29 m
Lifespan: 12 years

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