Wood thrushes are medium-sized songbirds found in forests across much of North America. They are known for their beautiful, flute-like songs, which are often described as sounding like an ethereal bell ringing through the trees. But when exactly do wood thrushes sing their melodic songs – is it only during the day, or can their calls also be heard after dark?
Quick Answer
Wood thrushes typically do not sing at night. Their songs are most often heard during the daytime hours from late spring through summer. There are a few exceptions when wood thrushes may vocalize a bit after dusk, but they rarely sing full songs at night.
Wood Thrush Song Patterns
Wood thrushes are most vocal during the breeding season from May to August. Males sing melodic and complex songs to defend territories and attract mates. Their most intensive dawn singing occurs in June and July when females are incubating eggs. They may continue singing periodically through the day. Song activity peaks in the early mornings and late afternoons, although they sometimes sing a bit at midday too. Wood thrush vocalizations typically subside by early evening as sunlight fades.
One reason wood thrushes don’t sing much at night is safety. Singing after dark could make a bird more vulnerable to nocturnal predators like owls, raccoons, or opossums. Wood thrushes also don’t need to sing at night once they have established a breeding territory and attracted a mate earlier in the season.
That being said, wood thrushes may occasionally vocalize a bit in the early evening hours after sunset or just before sunrise. Brief night singing sometimes happens more often later in the breeding season in July and August. But even then, they don’t usually sing full elaborate songs in the dark. Their nighttime vocalizations tend to be simpler more subdued call notes.
Other Nocturnal Bird Sounds
Even though wood thrushes are quiet at night, you may hear other nocturnal bird vocalizations after dark. Here are a few bird calls you might notice in the night:
- Eastern screech owls – A haunting, tremolo trill. Sometimes described as a bouncing ball call.
- Barred owls – Distinct hoots in a rhythmic series of 5-8 notes: “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?”
- Whip-poor-wills – A loud, repetitive “Whip-poor-will” chant.
- Killdeer – A sharp, pleading “kill-deer” call.
- Mourning doves – A soft, mournful cooing.
- American woodcocks – An eerie peenting sound as they spiral up and dive down in spring displays.
- Northern mockingbirds – Emphatic chattering notes as they sing through the night.
- American robins – Cheery caroling before dawn.
These nighttime sounds create an elaborate chorus until wood thrushes and other daytime birds join in at sunrise. While wood thrushes sleep, you can listen for other fascinating nocturnal birds and their unique after-dark vocalizations.
Notable Wood Thrush Song Characteristics
When wood thrushes do sing during daylight hours, their songs have distinctive qualities:
- Flute-like tonal quality – Their songs have a clear, bell-like, ascending tone often described as flute-like.
- Even cadence – The pace of songs is fairly steady vs. rushed.
- Repeating song phrases – Song sections are often repeated twice with a brief pause in between.
- Reverberating echo – The fading end of one song phrase blends into the beginning of the next.
- Complex structure – Males have a repertoire of over 100 different song variants.
These musical songs ring through deciduous and mixed forests from spring through summer. The melodies announce a wood thrush’s presence on its breeding territory and help attract mates.
Typical Wood Thrush Habitat
Wood thrushes favor mature, shady forests with a mix of tree types and a woodland understory. Some habitats where you may hear wood thrushes singing in the daytime include:
- Deciduous forests with trees like oaks, maples, hickories, and poplars.
- Young deciduous woodlands with saplings and shrubby undergrowth.
- Floodplain forests along streams.
- Forest edges bordering openings or clearings.
- Parks and wooded suburbs, typically near water.
- Second growth and planted woodlands.
Wood thrushes are often found in habitats with trees of varying age and density. The shade, moisture, and leaf litter in these forests provide ideal breeding conditions. The mix of cover also supplies food like insects and berries.
What Do Wood Thrushes Eat?
Wood thrushes are omnivores that eat a diverse diet including:
- Insects and spiders: Beetles, moths, caterpillars, crickets, ants, wasps, grasshoppers, flies, spiders.
- Berries: Wild grapes, dogwood, pokeweed, blueberries, huckleberries, elderberries.
- Other fruits: Mulberries, raspberries, blackberries.
- Seeds and nuts: Acorns, tree sap.
- Other: Snails, millipedes, salamanders.
Wood thrushes use their observant eyes and quick reflexes to spot and grab crawling and flying insects from the ground and foliage. They also vigorously flip over leaves to uncover hidden morsels.
Berries become more important in their diet later in the summer. Wood thrushes rapidly fill up on fruit when they find a bountiful shrub or vine.
Foraging Behavior
When foraging, wood thrushes exhibit some typical behaviors:
- Methodically hop along the ground, pausing frequently.
- Squat or sidestep to peek under leaves.
- Make short flights to catch insects.
- Perch on branches and grab crawling insects.
- Glean berries and fruits from shrubs and vines.
- Scatter leaf litter with feet and bill to uncover food.
Wood thrushes often follow a predictable daily routine. They start the morning with abundant dawn singing. After singing, they promptly start foraging. They continue feeding periodically between short singing bouts the rest of the day. In the evening before roosting, they stuff themselves with as much food as possible.
Interesting Wood Thrush Behaviors and Traits
Some cool facts about the behavior and biology of wood thrushes include:
- They are monogamous and mate for life. Partners develop strong bonds.
- Males attract females by singing. The best singers get the most mates.
- They often reuse the same nest site year after year.
- Nests are made of mud and lined with leaves and grasses.
- Females lay pale blue eggs. Pairs usually raise 2 broods per season.
- They are shy, secretive birds that tend to avoid human activity when nesting.
- They flutter ascending branches when taking off with a distinctive whirring wing sound.
- They have cryptic brown backs that help conceal them on the forest floor.
- When alarmed, they rapidly flick their tails up and down.
- They migrate at night and winter in Central America.
Wood thrushes lead fascinating lives in the forests where they breed. Their melodious voices create a soundtrack for the woods in spring and summer. While we sleep, they are crossing continents under the cover of darkness on their amazing migrations.
Conclusion
In summary, wood thrushes generally do not sing their flute-like songs at night. As diurnal songbirds, they are most vocal in the mornings and evenings during spring and summer days. While wood thrushes rest after sunset, you may hear the voices of owls, doves, and other nocturnal birds. But the beautiful songs of wood thrushes ringing through the forest are a sure sign of daytime. If you want to enjoy the wood thrush’s melody, listen for its evocative sound from late spring through summer during daylight hours when this shy songster is most active.
