Turdus plumbeus
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ciénaga de Zapata | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 2 | Los Haitises National Park | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 3 | Jaragua National Park | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Havana | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 2 | Santo Domingo | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 3 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Red-legged Thrush sighting in Miami on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 137th most-seen of the 325 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-legged Thrush in Miami on a given day, against under 5% in July to May, the lowest months. That is one of Miami's wettest months, with about 190 mm of rain against 45 mm in January.
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.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Red-legged Thrush sightings, Miami ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Havana (Cuba, about 60%) and Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic, about 60%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-legged Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Miami (7 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.
