Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush

Overview

The black-headed nightingale-thrush, Catharus mexicanus, is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is a mostly year-round resident found across various regions of Central and North America, though its population size is believed to be decreasing.

Identification

• Plumage: Adult males feature a black crown, dark gray face with a bright orange eye-ring, olive-brown upperparts, and a white throat with faint dark streaks; females have a browner head and breast.
• Structure: The bird is 15 to 16.5 cm long and weighs approximately 30 g, with bright orange bills, legs, and feet across all subspecies.
• Song: Its vocalisation is a series of rapid, thin, flute-like but slightly tinny and fuzzy phrases, such as dleet-dloo-dlee-dlee.

Habitat

The species inhabits lowland and montane evergreen forest in tropical and subtropical zones, as well as pine-oak forest in Guatemala and Honduras. Its range is disjunct, covering parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama, with a rare vagrant record in Texas.

Diet

This bird feeds on insects such as beetles and caterpillars, as well as a significant amount of fruit, including that of Psychotria and Cephaelis. It forages primarily in the forest understory and on the ground, where it flips over leaf litter.

Did you know?

It displays aggressive behaviour when interacting with the ruddy-capped nightingale-thrush, Catharus frantzii.