[A wood thrush is perched on a branch. It sings. Other bird songs can be heard in the background.] [Explore MacaulayLibrary.org]

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Wood Thrushes are medium-sized, pot-bellied songbirds with dark spotting on their breast, and rich, brick-red coloration on their upperparts. Like other thrushes, they have a beautiful, flute-like song, which is commonly heard during spring and summer in deciduous forests of the eastern U.S. In the final trill of the Wood Thrush song, the bird uses both sides of its vocal organ, the syrinx.

This video accompanies Chapter 10, Avian Vocal Behavior, Handbook of Bird Biology, 3rd Edition from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Wiley Publishing.

Practice identifying birds using real soundscapes and learn birding-by-ear tips in this self-paced, online course: How to Identify Bird Songs

Recorded by Benjamin M. Clock, Macaulay Library