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A grey-backed thrush with a brick-orange breast, bobbing across lawns in search of worms.

How to spot it

A round-bodied thrush about 25 cm long, with a dark grey back, a brick-orange breast, a blackish head and a yellow bill. It stands upright on lawns, runs a few steps, then pauses to tug at a worm.

Where it lives

One of North America's most familiar birds, from Alaska and Canada down to Mexico — on lawns, in parks, gardens and open woodland. Northern birds move south in winter, often in large roving flocks.

What it eats

Earthworms and insects in the breeding season, switching heavily to berries and fruit in autumn and winter — which is when a flock will strip a rowan or holly in a day.

Song & behaviour

A rich, caroling song of clear rising and falling phrases, often the first voice heard before dawn. The call is a sharp, laughing "tut-tut-tut".

Nesting

The female builds a sturdy cup of grass and mud — low in a tree, on a ledge or on a building — and lays a clutch of pale, unmarked blue eggs.

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