The wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), best known for its hauntingly beautiful song, is found in moist, deciduous woodlands with a thick understory; also well-planted parks and gardens. It is a North American passerine bird, closely related to other thrushes such as the American robin. It has rust-brown upperparts and white underparts with heavy dark brown spots. The eye-rings are white, while the black bill has a creamy pink base on the lower mandible. The wood thrush breeds across central and eastern North America. It winters in the tropics from the Yucatan Peninsula south. The Wood Thrush was first described by German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789. The genus name is a direct translation of its common name, derived from the Greek words for woodland and thrush or fieldfare. The species name comes from the Latin mustela, or weasel.
