CreatureData

Bicknell's thrush

Catharus bicknelli (Ridgway, 1882)

VUVulnerablesongbirds

The bicknell's thrush (Catharus bicknelli) is a species in the family Turdidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 27.8 g to 30 g and live up to 7.34 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.

Bicknell's thrush (Catharus bicknelli)
Photo: Phillip Kenny · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the bicknell's thrush

Weight
27.8 g – 30 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
7.34 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
11.9 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
13 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
4src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the bicknell's thrush live?

Not recorded

What is the bicknell's thrush?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

Bicknell's thrush (Catharus bicknelli) is a medium-sized thrush, at 17.5 cm (6.9 in) and 28 g (0.99 oz). One of North America's rarest and most localized songbirds, it breeds on coniferous mountain tops and disturbed habitats of northeastern North America. While very similar in appearance and vocalization to the gray-cheeked thrush (Catharus minimus), the two species differ slightly in their morphology and vocalizations, although they have with completely different breeding ranges. It was named after Eugene Bicknell, an American amateur ornithologist, who made the first scientific discovery of the species on Slide Mountain in the Catskills in the late 19th century. John Burroughs, in his essay, "The Heart of the Southern Catskills" (1886), writes effusively about the voice of Bicknell's thrush heard near the summit on his climbs of Slide Mountain, and how on his stays on Slide saw them nowhere else but "about the summit", and saw no other thrush but Bicknell's.

From the Wikipedia article “Bicknell's thrush” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bicknell%27s_thrush&oldid=1361686406), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the bicknell's thrush endangered?

The bicknell's thrush is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.

How is the bicknell's thrush classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyTurdidae
  6. genusCatharus
  7. SpeciesCatharus bicknelli (Ridgway, 1882)

Synonyms Catharus minimus bicknelli, Hylocichla aliciae bicknelli, Hylocichla minima bicknelli, Hylocichla minima minima, Turdus aliciae bicknelli

Other names and names in other languages (39)
  • Bicknell’s thrushEnglish
  • Bicknell’s thrushEnglish
  • griveta de BicknellCatalan
  • drozd newfoundlandskýCzech
  • BjergskovdrosselDanish
  • BicknelldrosselGerman
  • BicknellmusendrosselGerman
  • biknela turdoEsperanto
  • Zorzalito de BicknellSpanish
  • Zorzal de BicknellSpanish
  • nulurästasEstonian
  • mainenrastasFinnish
  • Grive de BicknellFrench
  • Smólach BhicnilIrish
  • gorski drozdCroatian
  • Bicknell-fülemülerigóHungarian
  • Tordo di BicknellItalian
  • ハイイロチャツグミJapanese
  • イスパニオラチャツグミJapanese
  • ヒスパニオラチャツグミJapanese
  • ヒスパニョラチャツグミJapanese
  • Biknelio trumpasnapis strazdasLithuanian
  • Jaunanglijas strazdsLatvian
  • Bicknell-lijsterDutch
  • Bicknells DwerglijsterDutch
  • irokeserskogtrostNorwegian
  • drozdek wędrownyPolish
  • tordo-de-bicknellPortuguese
  • tordo-dos-apalachesPortuguese
  • Дрозд БикнеллаRussian
  • Пестрогорлый соловьиный дроздRussian
  • drozd hnedýSlovak
  • Biknelov drozdićSerbian
  • balsamskogstrastSwedish
  • bicknellskogstrastSwedish
  • Bicknell Bülbül ArdıcıTurkish
  • дрізд-короткодзьоб канадськийUkrainian
  • 比氏夜鸫Chinese
  • 畢克氏夜鶇Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the bicknell's thrush

Other species in the same genus Catharus.

LC, Least Concern
Veery (Catharus fuscescens)

Veery

Catharus fuscescens

Turdidae

CompareBicknell's thrush vs Hermit thrushBicknell's thrush vs Swainson's thrushBicknell's thrush vs Gray-cheeked thrushBicknell's thrush vs Veery

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the bicknell's thrush?

An adult bicknell's thrush weighs 27.8 g – 30 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the bicknell's thrush endangered?

The bicknell's thrush is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

How long does the bicknell's thrush live?

The bicknell's thrush has a recorded lifespan of 7.34 years.

What kind of animal is the bicknell's thrush?

The bicknell's thrush (Catharus bicknelli) belongs to the family Turdidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Bicknell's thrush (Catharus bicknelli). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/bicknell-s-thrush

MLA

“Bicknell's thrush (Catharus bicknelli).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/bicknell-s-thrush.

BibTeX
@misc{bicknell_s_thrush_2026,
  title = {Bicknell's thrush (Catharus bicknelli)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/bicknell-s-thrush},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}