ML639309616

Detalles de la observación

Superb bird. Soon after arriving and after being pointed to the right spot (the creek along the dry lake bed, south of the parking area), we saw the thrush getting a drink. It stayed in the ground for a while, then spent about forty-five minutes in the trees above the creek before coming down for another show. Gray-cheeked Thrushes always seem to me to be heavier-bodied than other thrushes. It seemed somehow front-heavy. This bird had the same impression. The overall coloration was fairly cold gray. The bill was two-toned with a yellow base and dark tip, the lower mandible being more yellow than the upper. The face was gray, giving a "gray-cheeked" appearance. Thin eye-ring. Upperparts were nondescript, a grayish brown. There was a dark malar stripe and mostly white throat. The upper breast was quite heavily spotted, with obvious buffiness at the sides of the neck. It was an attractive contrasting pattern. Spots thinned out towards the lower belly, and the flanks were quite gray, more so than other thrushes.