Fay Thrush
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Fay Thrush, Pseudocatharus maculatus L 13-16 cm, WS 25-30 cm, Family: Turdidae
IUCN Conservation Status: Least concern (LC)
Description:
Chunky, medium-sized songbird with round body and long legs. Can appear quite plump when perched, leaner when running or standing. Superficially similar to Catharus thrushes. Rather drab, gray-brown upperparts and cream to tan undersides. Throat and breast covered in dark spots. Slender, straight bill and large dark eyes. Males and females mostly indistinguishable in the field. Birds west of the mountain divide often more heavily spotted.
Voice:
Song is a beautiful, haunting melody begins with a rising warbled phrase, followed by a long, sustained whistle, and ending with a descending phrase. Song often written as “Purity purity, whoooooo, purity purity”. Quality very flute-like, echoing. Pattern of ascending then descending spiral differentiates it from similar Russet Thrush. Various calls, most common is a distinct two note “bell call”, both on the same pitch, and a metallic prrrr. Frequently produces a chink call when taking off.
Range and Habitat:
Summer range encompasses most of western Novasola and the eastern forest regions. Occasionally found around Fairweather Sound, but not in prairie interior. Migrates to spend winter in Central America. A forest bird, Fay Thrushes avoid open areas and are most frequently seen in forests with dense understories. Spends most of the time on or near the ground, not often observed in canopy. Shy, can be difficult to spot in the shadows of the forest brush.
Discussion:
More often heard than seen, the unassuming Fay Thrushes’ melancholy fluting songs echo throughout Novasola’s dark forests. In popular polls the Fay Thrush song is often voted the most beautiful of endemic birds, and they, along with the distinctive bell calls, are an irreplaceable part of Novasolan summer. Sound is often the best way to distinguish the Fay Thrush from the closely related Russet Thrush, which looks quite similar.
Fay Thrushes are difficult to spot in the field, as they prefer to stay hidden in dense underbrush deep within forest ecosystems and avoid people when possible. They forage along the ground, running across the forest floor hunting insects. They eat mostly ants, beetles, caterpillars, and bees, but will transition their diets in the winter to eat more fruit. Their large eyes are adaptations to the low light levels of the undergrowth.
Early migrants, they arrive on Novasola around late March to early April and begin their fall migration in early August. This is shifted slightly in Russet Thrushes, which arrive later in April or May and leave closer to September. When Fay Thrushes arrive in the spring, males immediately begin fighting for and defending territories, which they do through song. It is common to hear multiple neighboring males singing back and forth to one another. During breeding, females build nests on the ground, usually at the base of trees and hidden by low vegetation, and do all the incubation, while males defend the nest and bring food to the female.
The name Fay Thrush alludes to fairies of mythology, as Richard Reichwald, who named them, saw similarities. The thrush’s secretive nature, deep woodland habitats, and haunting and whimsical sounds reminded him, and even people today, of fantastical forest spirits. The genus name Pseudocatharus comes from the Latin for “false Catharus” because of the many superficial similarities with that genus. Species name maculatus means “spotted”.
Perhaps the first major taxonomic challenge for Reichwald was describing the Pseudocatharus thrushes. It was Reichwald who first split them from Catharus thrushes, and he was also the first to split the Russet and Fay Thrushes into separate species. He first described the Fay Thrush in August of 1902 when the NRC reached the eastern extent of the prairie and passed into the Six Sister mountains, where he used their distinct songs to differentiate them from Russet Thrushes, which he already described. However, he never actually saw a Fay Thrush until the second expedition.
“This morning was our first in these mountains, an Eden here, foil to the vast grasslands from which I was so eager to depart. After months of seemingly endless prairie, the Corps has reached the headwaters of the Roosevelt, positioned in a steep, rocky country of dry forest, mixed pine and deciduous trees. The birdlife here is diverse and distinct from the prairie. This morning I listened to a chorus of what I believed to be Russet Thrushes, antagonistically singing over one another in great numbers. I was, however, soon gifted the clarity to realize Russets these songs were not. These songs have a unique pattern, rising to a sustained note then dropping again, quite unlike the Russets of Cape George. I must caution from describing the birds further, and endeavor to find these mysterious flutes.” – Expedition log, August 12, 1902
“Having now reached the culmination of our first journey I am awed by the immensity and diversity of the country we have travelled. My fellow members have made numerous discoveries their own, and we are all of us eager to begin again next year. I have few regrets, none so prominent in my mind as my failure to discover the nymph whose fluting accompanied us for three mornings of this expedition. Clearly a forest thrush of some kind, I gather only it must be related to the Russet and must migrate off island by August’s end.” – Expedition log, November 17, 1902
“Just before, and then again after, my visit with the Snow Jays I was greeted by a familiar, if not welcome, voice. A soft, echoing whistle rang through the underbrush as I walked to and from camp which I immediately recognized as the mystery Thrush from the year last. This encounter, perhaps more than the descent from the mountains, has rejuvenated my soul and engaged my want to continue.” – Expedition log, July 3, 1903
“At last I am fulfilled! Those fairies which have called to me for two summers were finally made manifest. After following the ethereal siren’s song through rhododendron thicket, I was greeted by that thrush which I hunt. Similar in appearance to the Russet, but with a more cream-colored breast and heavier spotting which trails further down the belly, it is most easily distinguished by voice. I saw two of these new thrushes rambling abound the forest floor, overturning leaves and detritus no doubt in search of insects. After we locked eyes, such apparent, black eyes, they at once knew they had been spotted and immediately flushed into nearby shrubs, disappearing once again.” – Expedition logs, August 4, 1903
“With years of exploration after the Corps expeditions, I have corrected an earlier misconception of my own making regarding the Fay Thrush. They are indeed much more common than I had understood, though their secrecy and unwillingness to invite man into their lives coupled with the timing of their migrations have given me undue cause to originally describe them as rare. Instead I now see our expeditions aligned not with their timing, and often missed most of their breeding season.
…
Nymphs of Novasola’s forests, wet or dry, the Fay prefers to be heard not seen, like Wisps leading travelers astray. The melancholy of their fluted solos, like a choir to the cathedral, are beautiful beyond measure, beyond comparison, and cause many an outdoorsman to commune with some unknown spirituality, a new understanding of His creation found in the natural music of this place.” – Native Birds of Novasola, 1912