Varied Thrush
(Ixoreus naevius)

Overview

Summary

© Glen Tepke (www.pbase.com/gtepke)
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The Varied Thrush is a common, widespread breeding bird of the moist coniferous forests of western Canada. Data from the Breeding Bird Survey suggest little change in the national population since the early 1970s. However, several regional populations have experienced decreases of greater than 50%. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1993-2012)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

Although Varied Thrushes use many types of moist coniferous forest in the breeding season (Campbell et al. 1997), they prefer old-growth stands (Bryant et al. 1993). Thus, any loss of old-growth or mature stands to logging and forest fragmentation may impact this species (George 2000).

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Bryant, A.A., J.-P.L. Savard, and R.T. McLaughlin. 1993. Avian communities in old-growth and managed forests of western Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Canadian Wildlife Service Technical Report Series No. 167. Delta, BC. 115 pp.
• Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J.M. Cooper, G.W. Kaiser, M.C.E. McNall, and G.E. J. Smith. 1997. The Birds of British Columbia. Volume 3: Passerines, Flycatchers Through Vireos. UBC Press, Vancouver, BC.
• George, T.L. 2000. Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. George, T.L. 2000. Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)