Red-legged Thrush

Red-legged Thrush

Turdus plumbeus

Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~60% · Likely
at Havana

In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%

1,300 Verified sightings at Havana
944 In all 3 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Red-legged Thrush

The Western red-legged thrush (Turdus plumbeus) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. Native to the Caribbean, it is found in the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, and Cuba. It formerly occurred on the Swan Islands, Honduras, but was extirpated there.

The red-legged thrush was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under its current binomial name Turdus plumbeus. Linnaeus based his account of the "red leg'd thrush" that had been described and illustrated by the English naturalist Mark Catesby in his book The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. The specific epithet is Latin meaning "leaden", "plumbeous" or "lead-coloured". It was formerly considered conspecific with the eastern red-legged thrush but in 2025 the species was split in two by AviList and Clements checklist based on differences in plumage and genetics.

Four subspecies are recognised: Has beige-orange color on rear flanks and vent area. Bill is dark red with dusky tip.... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:51

Dominica · 2025

© Barry Edmonston · XC977545 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call0:53

Cuba · 2021

© Nils Navarro · XC659373 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song1:06

Cuba · 2009

© Simon Elliott · XC588296 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Ciénaga de Zapata 🇨🇺 Cuba
~50%
2 Los Haitises National Park 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
~30%
3 Jaragua National Park 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Havana 🇨🇺 Cuba
~60%
2 Santo Domingo 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
~60%
3 Miami 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Red-legged Thrush in Havana?

Likely

About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Red-legged Thrush sighting in Havana on a given day, based on 1,300 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 7th most-seen of the 183 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Red-legged Thrush in Havana?

May

In that month about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Red-legged Thrush in Havana on a given day, against about 50% in November to February, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Red-legged Thrush?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-legged Thrush sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Havana the best place to see a Red-legged Thrush?

Yes

Of the 3 cities where we can rate Red-legged Thrush sightings, Havana has the highest daily chance: about 60%. Next come Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic, about 60%) and Miami (United States, under 5%).

Where does the Red-legged Thrush sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Red-legged Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Havana (1,300 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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