Townsend's solitaire (''Myadestes townsendi'') is a medium-sized

thrush ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a secret ...

, the only

solitaire Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself, usually with cards, but also with dominoes. The term "solitaire" is also used for single-player games of concentration and skill using a set layout tiles, pegs or stones. These game ...

native to

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

north of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

Range and habitat

This solitaire ranges from southern

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

and

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

to northern

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

in Mexico, preferring montane woodlands. During winter, it may move in search of food to lower elevations, including the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, a ...

, northern interior Mexico, and even desert

oases In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical im ...

Description

Myadestes townsendi, Mt Ashland Road, Oregon 1

Townsend's solitaire reaches a length of approximately and wingspan of ; it weighs approximately . It has a short, thick, blackish bill; a white eye ring; and gray plumage with a buffy wing stripe and edges of the flight feathers. The tail is long, tapered when shut, and edged with white. Juveniles are mottled gray and white. It perches in a rather upright position, often high on a branch and often staying still for a long time. Though it has some similarities to the

northern mockingbird The northern mockingbird (''Mimus polyglottos'') is a mockingbird commonly found in North America. This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather. This species has rarely been observed in Europe ...

, particularly as to the tail, its dark underparts, shape, size, and behavior are not similar. It feeds primarily on berries and insects. The solitaire is amongst the most specialized of all North American birds since its diet in winter consists almost entirely of the fleshy cones of the juniper bush, and the solitary birds form territories around productive juniper patches which they strongly defend Bock, C. 1982. Factors influencing winter distribution and abundance of Townsend's Solitaire. Wilson Bulletin 94: 297-302

Voice

Its song consists of loud, melodious flute-like rising and falling phrases with "low, husky notes interspersed but no distinct pattern" and "a slightly mechanical quality." The call is a squeaky ''eeek'' or "clear, soft whistle ''heeh''".

Nesting

The nest resembles that of other solitaires: a

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cl ...

of fine plant material on or close to the ground. Townsend's solitaire usually lays three or four eggs that are grayish-white with brown dots or splotches concentrated at the larger end.

Etymology

The name of this bird commemorates the ornithologist

John Kirk Townsend John Kirk Townsend (August 10, 1809 – February 6, 1851) was an American naturalist, ornithologist and collector. Townsend was a Quaker born in Philadelphia, the son of Charles Townsend and Priscilla Kirk. He attended Westtown School in ...

References

;General *

External links

Townsend's solitaire
at USGS

VIREO; (with picture: egg

clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

) * ttp://wdfw.wa.gov/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=10071&g2_serialNumber=3 Townsend's solitaire photobr>Article
Washington State {{Taxonbar, from=Q2668264 Townsend's solitaire Native birds of Alaska Native birds of Western Canada Native birds of the Western United States Birds of Mexico Townsend's solitaire Townsend's solitaire