ABSTRACT
The thrushes are a nearly worldwide group of landbirds, many of which are familiar to humans for their pleasant songs that brighten yards and gardens. Respected and endearing, the Clay-colored Thrush and Rufous-bellied Thrush are the national birds of Costa Rica and Brazil, respectively. The classic thrush or "robin" is round-headed, plump-bodied, and colored with browns, tans, olives, grays, blacks, or sometimes with a brighter rufous or orange. All North American Turdidae follow a Complex Basic Strategy, even long-distance boreal migrants that spend the nonbreeding season in South America. The juvenile plumage is often with dark spots below and with buffy spots above. In North American and probably all other thrushes, only females incubate and develop brood patches. Skulls generally completely ossify, but in some individuals and species, small windows can persist into definitive cycle basic (DCB).
