Catharus bicknelli
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
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.
Bicknell's thrush is just slightly smaller than the other northern migratory Catharus thrushes, with an average length of approximately 17 cm (6.7 in) and a weight ranging generally from 26 to 30g. Both sexes... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Bicknell's Thrush sighting in Philadelphia on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 238th most-seen of the 248 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Bicknell's Thrush in Philadelphia on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bicknell's Thrush sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Bicknell's Thrush sightings, Philadelphia ranks 4th at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Baltimore (United States, under 5%), New York City (United States, under 5%) and Montreal (Canada, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bicknell's Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Philadelphia (9 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.
