Townsend's solitaire (''Myadestes townsendi'') is a medium-sized thrush, the only

solitaire Solitaire may refer to: Film and television *'' Le Solitaire'', a 1987 French film * ''Solitaire'' (1991 film), a Canadian drama film * ''Solitaire'' (2008 film), a drama film *''Solitaire'', 2016 Lebanese comedy film with Bassam Kousa *"Solit ...

native to

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

north of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Range and habitat

This solitaire ranges from southern

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

and

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

to northern

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

in Mexico, preferring montane woodlands. During winter, it may move in search of food to lower elevations, including the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

, northern interior Mexico, and even desert oases.

Description

Townsend's solitaire reaches a length of approximately and wingspan of ; it weighs approximately . It has a short, thick, blackish bill; a white eye ring; and gray plumage with a buffy wing stripe and edges of the flight feathers. The tail is long, tapered when shut, and edged with white. Juveniles are mottled gray and white. It perches in a rather upright position, often high on a branch and often staying still for a long time. Though it has some similarities to the

northern mockingbird The northern mockingbird (''Mimus polyglottos'') is a mockingbird commonly found in North America, of the family Mimidae. The species is also found in some parts of the Caribbean, as well as on the Hawaiian Islands. It is typically a permanent B ...

, particularly as to the tail, its dark underparts, shape, size, and behavior are not similar. It feeds primarily on berries and insects. The solitaire is amongst the most specialized of all North American birds since its diet in winter consists almost entirely of the fleshy cones of the juniper bush, and the solitary birds form territories around productive juniper patches which they strongly defend

Voice

Its song consists of loud, melodious flute-like rising and falling phrases with "low, husky notes interspersed but no distinct pattern" and "a slightly mechanical quality." The call is a squeaky ''eeek'' or "clear, soft whistle ''heeh''".

Nesting

They nest on the ground in hollows under banks or crevices about roots of trees or fallen stumps, making a large, loosely constructed pile of weeds and trash, hollowed and lined with rootlets. The nest resembles that of other solitaires: a

cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...

of fine plant material on or close to the ground. Townsend's solitaire usually lays three or four eggs that are grayish-white with brown dots or splotches concentrated at the larger end.

Etymology

The name of this bird commemorates the ornithologist

John Kirk Townsend John Kirk Townsend (August 10, 1809 – February 6, 1851) was an American natural history, naturalist, ornithologist and collector. Townsend was a Quaker born in Philadelphia, the son of Charles Townsend and Priscilla Kirk. He attended Westtow ...

References

;General *

External links

Townsend's solitaire
at USGS

VIREO; (with picture: egg

clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...

) * ttp://wdfw.wa.gov/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=10071&g2_serialNumber=3 Townsend's solitaire photobr>Article
Washington State {{Taxonbar, from=Q2668264 Townsend's solitaire Native birds of Alaska Native birds of Western Canada Native birds of the Western United States Birds of Mexico Townsend's solitaire Townsend's solitaire