Thrush (bird), common name applied to any of a large family of widely distributed passerine (perching) birds. Thrushes are found in almost all parts of the world and include some of the most melodious singers among birds. They are small to medium-sized and feed chiefly on insects or worms, though many thrushes also eat fruits and berries when other food is not plentiful. Thrushes tend to feed on the ground. They typically have relatively long, slender bills and legs. Thrush nests are usually cup-shaped, and the females lay from three to six eggs. The eggs are pale and in many cases bluish.

Experts have classified thrushes into two major groups, the true thrushes (to which the American robin belongs) and the chat thrushes (to which the European robin belongs). The true thrushes are found on every continent and on many islands. The chat thrushes are largely confined to Europe and Asia. Today, many experts place the chat thrushes into a separate family: the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae.

The largest group of true thrushes belongs to the genus Turdus, which comprises about 65 species. These thrushes are found in both temperate and tropical areas around the world. However, only one species of Turdus, the American robin, inhabits North America. A strictly American genus, Catharus, includes tropical and temperate species that rank among the finest songsters of the bird world. The best-known member of this group is the hermit thrush. It nests in forests and woodlands over most of the United States and Canada. Like many of its relatives, the hermit thrush is brown above and creamy white below, and heavily spotted with dark gray on its breast. It is distinguished by its contrasting reddish tail. The more heavy-bodied wood thrush is also a fine singer. It is found in deciduous forests of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. Other North American thrushes include the veery, Swainson’s thrush, and gray-cheeked thrush.

In Europe and Asia the European blackbird is the most common thrush and a member of the genus Turdus. The male blackbird is all black with a yellow bill and the female is dull brown. The blackbird forages in parks and gardens much as the robin does in the United States, and its song and calls are quite similar to the robin’s. The common blackbird measures about 23 cm (9 in) long and is similar in size to the song thrush, a bird that is found throughout Europe and into Asia. Like the blackbird and other thrushes, the song thrush has an attractive, flutelike song.

The name thrush is often applied to birds of different families reminiscent of thrushes in coloration, voice, or ecological niche. Among such birds are the ant thrushes, the shrike thrushes, and the North American waterthrushes.

Scientific classification: Thrushes make up the family Turdidae of the order Passeriformes. The American robin is classified as Turdus migratorius, and the European robin as Erithacus rubecula. The hermit thrush is classified as Catharus guttatus, the wood thrush as Hylocichla mustelina, the veery as Catharus fuscescens, Swainson’s thrush as Catharus ustulatus, and the gray-cheeked thrush as Catharus minimus. The Eurasian blackbird is Turdus merula and the song thrush is Turdus philomelos.