[An adult wood thrush sits on its nest in a tree branch. A second adult, its mate, flies in with a beak full of caterpillars and other food. The second adult feeds the young (not clearly visible), and also its mate. Eventually it also eats some. The two adults then remove and eat several fecal sacs. The second adult flies away.] [Explore Macaulaylibrary.org]
End of transcriptA Wood Thrush Returns to its Nest to Feed Young
Wood Thrush breed in deciduous and mixed forests in the eastern U.S. where there are large trees, moderate understory, shade, and abundant leaf litter for foraging. Here, a pair of Wood Thrush tends a nest. One of the adults returns with food for its mate and small young. The parents remove fecal sacs, produced by the nestlings, to keep the nest tidy.
This video accompanies Chapter 11, Breeding Biology of Birds, Handbook of Bird Biology, 3rd Edition from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Wiley Publishing.
Recorded by Benjamin M Clock, Macaulay Library