terthreutis duosticta is a species of moth of the tortricidae family .

it is found in taiwan .

the wingspan is about 17 mm .

the ground colour of the forewings is cream , the costal and terminal area tinged with ochreous brownish .

the strigulae are brownish .

the hindwings are brownish cream .

terthreutis duosticta

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to cite this page : myers , p . , r . espinosa , c . s . parr , t . jones , g . s . hammond , and t . a . dewey . 2018 . the animal diversity web ( online ) . accessed at https : / / animaldiversity . org .
disclaimer : the animal diversity web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students . adw doesn ' t cover all species in the world , nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe . though we edit our accounts for accuracy , we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts . while adw staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable , we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control .
this material is based upon work supported by the national science foundation grants drl 0089283 , drl 0628151 , due 0633095 , drl 0918590 , and due 1122742 . additional support has come from the marisla foundation , um college of literature , science , and the arts , museum of zoology , and information and technology services .
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swainson 's thrush ( catharus ustulatus ) , also called olive-backed thrush , is a medium-sized thrush .

it is a member of catharus genus and is typical of it in terms of its subdued coloration and beautiful voice .

swainson 's thrush was named after william swainson , an english ornithologist .

the genus name catharus comes from the ancient greek katharos , " pure or clean " and refers to the plumage of the orange-billed nightingale-thrush c. aurantiirostris .

the specific ustuatus is latin for " burnt " , from urere , " to burn " .

the breeding habitat of swainson 's thrush is coniferous woods with dense undergrowth across canada , alaska , and the northern united states ; also , deciduous wooded areas on the pacific coast of north america .

these birds migrate to southern mexico and as far south as argentina .

the coastal subspecies migrate down the pacific coast of north america and winter from mexico to costa rica , whereas the continental birds migrate eastwards within north america ( a substantial detour ) and then travel southwards via florida to winter from panama to bolivia .

swainson 's thrush is a very rare vagrant to western europe .

it has also occurred as a vagrant in northeast asia .

at least in the winter quarters , swainson 's thrush tends to keep away from areas of human construction and other activity .

swainson ' s thrush

the swainson ' s thrush is the only woodland thrush whose song goes up in pitch .
the swainson ' s thrush is a summer visitor along the coast of california .
figure 1 . distribution of swainson ' s thrush in north and middle america .
a swainson ' s thrush photographed at st . francis wildlife association in quincy , florida
thanks for that shyloh…so nice to hear the swainson’s thrush song on a cold october morning .
swainson’s thrush has been observed to be steadily declining , but is currently labeled as ‘least concern’ .
unlike most other forest dwelling thrushes , the swainson ' s thrush ' s song rises in pitch toward the end of the melody .
often heard but difficult to spot . this video of a singing swainson ' s thrush is a cherished prize !
information on the swainson ' s thrush ( catharus ustulatus ) is being researched and written and will appear here shortly .
the swainson ' s thrush is classified as least concern ( lc ) on the iucn red list ( 1 ) .
i often wonder what ' s behind the name when i come across a bird that has an unusual name like the swainson ' s thrush instead of a self explanatory name like the black - capped chickadee . the swainson ' s thrush was named after william john swainson , an english ornithologist ( among other things ) , who lived from 1789 to 1855 . numerous species of birds were named after william john swainson , including the swainson ' s hawk and swainson ' s warbler . the swainson ' s thrush was named after mr . swainson by thomas nuttall , another zoologist who was also a botanist . mr . nuttall also has plants as well as birds named after him , like the nuttall ' s woodpecker .
flight : in flight , swainson’s thrush appears entirely olive brown on the upperparts . it hovers while gleaning insects from foliage .
regional differences in color and song occur within the swainson ' s thrush species . swainson ' s whose spring and summer range is the pacific northwest are more reddish brown in color than the olive color of the swainson ' s living within the rest of the species ' range . the swainson ' s of the pacific northwest also have a somewhat different song .
swainson’s thrushes are very common during migration across much of the u . s . , and they migrate at night
swainson’s thrush is shy and skulking , spending most of time on ground , under cover of undergrowth . it hops and will run in short bursts . swainson’s thrush is highly migratory . migration is mostly at night , often found in mixed flocks with other thrushes .
stefani ( 1996 ) reports that swainson’s thrush has been proposed as a species of special concern by laymon ( pending fish and game approval ) and that the usda forest service identified the swainson’s thrush as one of two priority landbird species for monitoring in the sierra nevada .
stefani reports 1 . 8 swainson’s thrushes / ha in plumas national forest , 1996 .
there are around 600 different species of birds in the thrush family . some of these like the wood thrush , varied thrush , hermit thrush , swainson ' s thrush and gray - cheeked thrush have their family name included in their individual names . others like the veery , american robin and western , mountain and eastern bluebirds are also thrushes but their family name is not a part of their common title .
protection / threats / status : swainson’s thrush populations appear to be declining , but is a widespread breeding bird occupying much of forested north america . they are however still vulnerable to loss of habitat on breeding and wintering grounds . occasionally , swainson’s thrush is a host of brown - headed cowbird .
density of swainson ' s thrush by detailed ecological unit in yukon - charley rivers national preserve , alaska , avian inventory , june 1999 and 2000 .
it was named after william swainson , an english ornithologist , and is also called the olive - backed thrush .
the distinct habitat requirements of the subspecies should be a major theme in conservation planning for the swainson’s thrush . however , data on breeding requirements of the western russet - backed swainson’s thrush , published or unpublished , is extremely sparse . although the majority of the swainson’s thrush range in ca is occupied by the russet - backed subspecies , no distinctions are made in published ca wildlife habitat manuals between habitat requirements this and the more northern and eastern olive - backed subspecies .
i could not find any legends about the swainson’s thrush , though if i were writing about the hermit thrush i would have at least one myth for this part . this is a scottish poem by walter wingate .
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diet : swainson’s thrush feeds on fruit , berries and insects . it also eats spiders and other invertebrates . young are fed insects , and possibly some fruits .
the swainson ' s thrush uses dense brushy areas along the coast of california . in the inland valleys it frequents oak woodlands as well as riparian pant communities .
the swainson ' s thrush occupies forested habitat at low to mid - elevations , overlapping with the veery below and the hermit thrush above . although it is found mostly in dense hardwood and mixed forests , young conifer forests , and forest openings , the swainson ' s thrush does not require as dense an understory as does the veery . they are attracted to salmonberry stands as nesting sites .
the longest - lived swainson’s thrush on record was at least 12 years , 1 month old when it was recaught and rereleased during banding operations in montana in 2006 .
the diet of the swainson ' s thrush changes seasonally from insects to berries . berries are important year round , making up over one third of the summer diet .
the swainson ' s thrush ' s breeding range is from alaska and across much of canada , south to the western united states and the northern parts of new england . they winter in central and south america .
new research shows that swainson ' s thrushes use a
genetic map
to pick their migration routes .
my favorite thrush songs besides the robin of course , are the swainson ' s and varied thrush ' s ~ we ' ve had the privilege of listening to both of them often . in addition to their superb singing abilities , there are many interesting things about this family of birds . in this months in scope , we ' ll be focusing our attention on the swainson ' s thrush ~ a wonderful spring and summer singer that frequents our neighborhood .
the song of the swainson ' s thrush is of a beautiful flute like quality with notes softly spiraling upward toward the end of the song . they also sing a simple whistled call note . a group of swainson ' s thrush males will often sing together in chorus in the early morning or evening , each singing from within his own territory .
the preferred habitat of the swainson ' s thrush is coniferous woodlands and forests and shrubby thickets . they enjoy berry bushes and will forage where they are well hidden . secretive by nature , swainson ' s thrushes are not always seen but their woodwind like songs echo for long distances .
other thrushes like the varied thrush may enjoy a birdseed mix , although it is not usually a food swainson ' s like to eat . ground level feeders like a low tray feeder suits any thrush ' s foraging style best ~ so when trying to attract them to your feeding station , be sure to offer thrush foods on or near the ground .
unlike the east where there are numerous species of thrushes , we have only the hermit and swainson ' s thrushes . separation of these two through binoculars in southern california is complicated because the local subspecies of swainson ' s thrush has a rufous rump . pyle has some very clear cut characteristics to separate the two species , fig . 228 for hermit thrush and fig . 227 for swainson ' s thrush . basically , p9 < p6 and p6 is emarginated in heth , while p9 > p6 and p6 is not emarginated in swth .
if you live within the swainson’s thrush’s range , you can make your yard more enticing to this bird by providing tree and shrub cover and ground - level bird baths , avoiding chemical pesticides , and letting leaf litter accumulate undisturbed .
the swainson’s thrush has olive to reddish - brown upperparts , head , and wings , buffy spectacles around the eyes , a buffy breast spotted with black , and a whitish belly .
habitat : swainson’s thrush favours coniferous or mixed forest , with rather open undergrowths , and also woodland thickets especially near streams . it winters in mature tropical forest , and secondary forest .
thrushes are excellent fliers and make use of this trait for short and long - distance migrations with species such as the veery and swainson ' s thrush wintering well south of the equator .
the swainson ' s thrush is a nocturnal migrant . at night this bird migrates up from mexico and central america in the summer . they just come to visit us in the summer .
the swainson’s thrush’s nest is a cup of twigs , leaves and grass , sometimes held together with mud , and lined with finer materials . it is often placed on a horizontal branch of a tree or shrub , either coniferous or deciduous .
they swainson ' s thrush enjoys toyon berries as well as the cover it provides . toyon is a large evergreen shrub with clusters of red berries . the swainson ' s thrush likes large and small shrubs for nesting and foraging as well as leaf litter for foraging . so don ' t rake up your leaf litter . it is a treasure trove of nutrition and organic matter .
the swainson’s thrush’s whirling song has a ventriloqual quality that can make it difficult to track . this may happen as the singer moves quickly from one perch to another between songs . it may also have to do with the sounds’ reverberation in dense foliage . swainson’s thrushes also sometimes sing quiet songs that create the illusion that its song emanates from a more distant location .
johnson , m . d . and g . r . geupel . 1998 . the importance of productivity to the dynamics of a swainson’s thrush population . the condor 98 : 134 - 142 .
there are three species of spot - breasted thrushes found in washington . all three - the swainson ' s thrush , the veery , and the hermit thrush - have solid brownish upperparts ( back , wings , and tail ) , light - colored bellies , whitish eye - rings , and varying degrees of spotting on their breasts . all are similar in shape to a robin , but smaller . males and females appear similar in most species . the spots on the swainson ' s thrush appear more faded than those of the hermit thrush , but more distinct than those of the veery . swainson ' s thrushes also have distinct buff - colored eye - rings .
swainson’s thrushes have been called “mosquito thrushes” for their flycatching habit of going after flying insects while feeding on their breeding grounds .
the swainson’s thrush is a medium bird which may also be called the olive - backed thrush . it prefers to breed in coniferous woodlands with dense undergrowth throughout canada , alaska and the northern united states . it is also found in deciduous forests of the north american pacific coast . during winter months , this species will migrate to southern mexico and argentina , costa rica , panama , bolivia and occasionally western europe . the swainson’s thrush forages for its food on the forest floor and gleans the surrounding vegetation . diets usually consist of insects and berries . nests are cup - shaped and placed on horizontal tree branches . the conservation rating for the swainson’s thrush is least concern .
although swainson ' s thrush is still considered one of the most common birds of northern spruce - fir forests , populations are declining even where abundant , particularly in alaska and the northeast . in california , the breeding range of this species has contracted during the last century , and
the disappearance of the swainson ' s thrush from yosemite valley is one of the unsolved mysteries of sierran ornithology
(
range : swainson’s thrush breeds from interior alaska throughout most of canada , southward to northern states in east , and through mountains in west and along pacific coasts . it winters in mexico and south america .
this month i have created for you a new coloring page featuring the swainson ' s thrush as well as a word search puzzle all about thrushes ! both activities are in a free downloadable pdf . just
swainson’s thrushes breed from alaska south to much of the western u . s . , as well as across southern canada to the northeastern u . s . they winter in mexico and central america . the population has declined in recent decades .
one other observation is timing . swainson ' s thrushes seem to pass south through southern california in late summer / early fall ( sep - oct ) and then north in late winter / early spring ( may ) . in between these two times , hermit thrushes are common ; we have never encountered a swainson ' s thrush in winter .
in north america , aside from the american robin and bluebirds , most thrushes are birds of woodland and forest . the wood thrush shares the eastern deciduous forests with the veery while out west , the ethereal tones of the varied thrush vie with the songs of hermit and swainson ' s thrushes in the tall coastal rainforests . the gray - cheeked thrush breeds further north in the boreal zone and the townsend ' s solitaire sings from the mountain conifers .
the swainson ' s thrush utilizes the organism rich leaf litter . this leaf litter is filled with all kinds of organisms that break down plant material . this includes spiders , worms , fungi , insects and many other creatures .
) . eight forms of swainson ' s thrush have been described based on geographical differences in coloration , with six currently recognized as subspecies . the confused historical taxonomy of this species and currently recognized differences may yet prompt further reclassification .
the scientific name of the swainson ' s thrush is catharus ustulatus . this thrush is smaller than the american robin at 6 1 / 2 to 7 3 / 4 inches long . the male and female of this species look alike . depending on where they live , both male and female are an olive or russet color on their upperparts and have a white and lightly buff underside heavily spotted with brown . they also have a creamy white eye ring around each eye . the swainson ' s thrush has the same basic body shape as the american robin .
swainson ' s thrushes are not particularly common birds in the santa monica mountains at the zuma canyon bird banding station ( only 22 encounters in seven years ) . but since this bird can easily be mistaken for a hermit thrush , i thought the inclusion of its species account would be useful . swainson ' s and hermit thrushes have an almost sympatric breeding range , but swainson ' s thrushes do not winter in the u . s . but rather in southern mexico and into central america . there are six subspecies in two groups . the key problem along the west coast is that the local subspecies ,
swainson’s thrush flit their way into the yukon mainly from mid - may to the end of may , being one of the last songbirds to make it to the yukon in spring . these birds overwinter in southern - most mexico , and down through western ( and part of central ) south america . they leave the yukon for the winter usually from the second - half of august to early september . these thrush nest in a wide variety of habitats , from cottonwood stands to old - growth spruce forest . around our yard it is a mix of black spruce and lodgepole pine , and the swainson’s thrush love it . swainson’s thrush prefer coniferous forests , particularly spruce . they forage for a mixed diet of bugs ( basically any ) and berries . at teslin lake bird observatory , there is a thicket of high - bush cranberries and you often see the swainson’s thrush in there stuffing themselves . they mostly forage on the ground , but also by hopping from low branch to low branch . they glean insects from plant foliage and will occasionally ‘flycatch’ in flight .
a characteristic also shown by the adults of the wood thrush and a few other species .
swainson’s thrush ( catharus ustulatus ) are smaller than a robin , averaging at about 7 inches in length . they are greyish brown , with a white throat , belly , and undertail . the breast is covered with large brown spots that extend and fade down to the belly . it has a white eyering with a pale , creamy lore stripe extending from the front of the eye to the base of the bill . if you get a good look , you can see that it looks as though the thrush is wearing eye glasses . that is one of the main characteristics that you use to identify a swainson’s thrush . grey - cheeked thrush have no eyeglasses , though they do have a thin eyering . hermit thrush have a thick white eyering , but no eyeglasses . hermit thrush also have a rich , rufous tail and bigger / bolder breast spots .
the swainson ' s thrush ' s nest is made up of moss , lichens , sticks , leaves and grasses . it is usually constructed and well hidden in a shrub or tree in a woodland or forest setting . the female lays three or four very light bluish - green eggs with light brown speckles .
the swainson ' s thrush forages in the leaf litter for insects and spiders . they also glean them from shrubs . so make sure you have lots of mulch in your garden . it also helps retain moisture , and nutrients for your plants .
2 . 9 hectares , on riparian woodland plot in san diego co . ( weaver 1989 ) . swainson’s thrush density decreased yearly on this plot after 1989 , disappearing by 1992 and absent at least through 1994 . weaver reports drought in 1990 and spring floodwaters which scoured the plot in the years 1991 - 1993 . but by 1997 , swainson’s thrushes had returned to the plot , with 3 males detected countersinging .
although the swainson ' s thrush does much of its feeding on the ground , it spends more time foraging in trees than do the other spot - breasted thrushes in washington . they hover while gleaning insects from foliage , and also catch flying insects . in spring and summer , when they feed predominantly on insects and other invertebrates , they forage mostly on the ground . as the season progresses and they eat more berries , they forage farther off the ground . the song and call of the swainson ' s thrush are quite distinctive , and may help a birder to locate this thrush that usually stays under cover .
reproduction : male establishes a territory and attracts a female by singing . swainson’s thrush’s nest is usually in a low conifer , sometimes in deciduous tree , at 2 to 10 feet above the ground . it’s a bulky open cup on a horizontal tree branch , built by female in about 4 days . it’s made of grasses , plants stems , moss , small twigs and mud . it is lined with skeletonised leaves , rootlets , lichens or moss , and animal hair .
every spring i look forward to the evenings and early hours of morning . i step outside into the cool , fresh air , and listen to one of the prettiest songs i have ever heard . one swainson’s thrush sings its heavenward spiralling song close by ; more answer it throughout the forest . at times up to seven or more males are scattered in the thickest parts of the forest by our house , defending their territories and competing with each other to attract a females attention . to hear the swainson’s thrush song and call , click here .
when attempting to attract swainson ' s thrushes to your yard , you will have to rely much more on your plant choices and creating a habitat for them than filling the feeder with delicious goodies . since swainson ' s thrushes rarely visit feeders , you will need to offer them food and shelter in the form of good garden plantings instead .
mack , diane evans and wang yong . 2000 . swainson ' s thrush ( catharus ustulatus ) , version 2 . 0 . in the birds of north america ( p . g . rodewald , editor ) . cornell lab of ornithology , ithaca , new york , usa .
voice : sounds by xeno - canto swainson’s thrush is often silent . the most typical call is an emphatic , low , liquid “whit” . we can hear also a soft “whup” . song is an ascending spiral of varied whistles . at night , a peeping “queep” is heard .
when controlling for plot effect , two of the above variables were found to account for within - plot differences in nest success - - willow shrub cover , which negatively correlated with nest success , and western swordfern cover , which positively correlated with nest success . it is interesting to note the negative correlation of nest success with willow shrub cover ( defined as < 5m high and stem of < 8cm dbh ) , considering that bent describes russet - backed swainson’s thrush as being attracted to willow - alder thickets . perhaps at the early stage of willow regeneration , some nest site requirement is not met for the swainson’s thrush . therefore , the simultaneous presence of willows and breeding swainson’s thrushes should not necessarily be taken to represent a healthy population .
swainson’s thrush is seasonally monogamous , but pairs often re - form in multiples seasons after repeating the pair - bonding process . this may facilitate rapid pairing . males arrive first ; initially tries to drive arriving females on its territory . after several days of female persistence , which may de strengthened by the male’s defensive behaviour , male accepts female and mating occurs .
swainson’s thrush sings from a high perch . it may flick its wings and raise its crest when agitated . when is performing an agonistic display ( a behaviour used to threaten another bird ) the bird draws its head back , raises its bill while moving it slightly to the side .
marzluff and lyon ( 1983 ) found swainson’s thrush abundance correlated with snag density , and 25 - 50 cm dbh live stems . they state that density of snags > 30 cm dbh reflect shrub cover and the occurrence of large stems . according to timossi ( 1990 ) the swainson’s thrush is found in moist ecotones , such as tree / shrub , tree / grass , or shrub / grass , with water and dense understory being necessary elements . she suggests that a dense understory and canopy closure of 40 - 100 % provides both protection from predators and an ample food supply .
a very short breeding season , documented by bent ( 1949 ) , prbo nest and banding data ( 1996 - 97 ) , and rogers ( 1994 ) , means a very narrow window of opportunity for reproduction , and possibly a high sensitivity to disturbance of breeding grounds . therefore , swainson’s thrushes are limited by production of young on the breeding grounds ( johnson and guepel 1995 ) . prolonged negative impacts on nest survivorship could be catastrophic to the swainson’s thrush . unfortunately , we have a profound lack of knowledge of nest survivorship and nesting requirements of the swainson’s thrushes breeding in california . this gap in knowledge could be distastrous for the conservation of the species , which appears to be extirpated from a large portion of its historic range .
the swainson’s thrush is best known for its distinctive , fluting song , the upward - spiraling melody that breeding males use to defend nests and territory and also probably to attract mates . while this song varies somewhat from one individual bird to the next , its whistling , constantly ascending quality is always recognizable once you’ve heard it .
two subspecies of swainson ' s thrush occur in washington , the russet - backed form in western washington and the southeast cascades , and the olive - backed form found in eastern washington and the northeast cascades . swainson ' s thrushes appear to benefit from the extensive logging of low - elevation west - side forests because logging leaves brushy , early - successional habitat . they are currently the most abundant and widely distributed spot - breasted thrush in washington . they are , however , still vulnerable to loss of habitat on breeding and wintering grounds . the breeding bird survey shows a small , not statistically significant decline in the washington population between 1980 and 2002 .
originally classified in the genus turdus from specimens on the columbia river in washington and the saskatchewan river in canada , swainson ' s thrush is now included in the genus catharus with the veery ( c . fuscescens ) and hermit ( c . guttatus ) , gray - cheeked ( c . minimus ) , and bicknell ' s ( c . bicknelli ) thrushes . among these and other closely related , spotted north american thrushes , it forages higher off the ground than its relatives and uses more aerial , fly - catching techniques to obtain insect prey , a characteristic that earned it the name
mosquito thrush
in maine ( bent 1949 ) . eight forms of swainson ' s thrush have been described based on geographical differences in coloration , with six currently recognized as subspecies . the confused historical taxonomy of this species and currently recognized differences may yet prompt further reclassification .
in new england spruce - fir forests , the nests of swainson’s thrushes are often lined with root - like cords of horsehair fungus . the fungal filaments can have antibiotic effects and may help deter nest pathogens .
swainson’s thrush is a common species , but has been gradually declining across its range ; experiencing a loss of about 38 % between 1966 and 2014 , according to the north american breeding bird survey . partners in flight estimates a global breeding population of 100 million , with 28 % spending some part of the year in the u . s . , 72 % in canada , and 7 % in mexico . the species rates a 10 out of 20 on the continental concern score . swainson ' s thrush is not on the 2014 state of the birds watch list . this species ' short breeding season may render it sensitive to disturbance on nesting grounds . problems on breeding grounds include grazing , development , human activity , and invasions of nonnative plants . during spring and fall migration , significant numbers of swainson’s thrushes die from collisions with windows , radio and cell - phone towers , and tall buildings . ( for more on the dangers of lights to migrating birds , visit the fatal light awareness program . ) studies of bird deaths at communications towers in minnesota , illinois , and west virginia revealed that swainson’s thrushes were killed in greater numbers than any other bird species . back to top
swainson ' s thrush : breeds from alaska east across canada to newfoundland , south to british columbia and along the west coast and rocky mountains , and also in northern new england . during migration , it may occur throughout north american and the caribbean . spends winters in tropics , from central mexico south . prefers coniferous forests and willow thickets .
swainson’s thrushes feed at higher levels than their relatives . they move in short hops along branches looking for food , gleaning from leaves of broad - leaved and coniferous trees . going after insects , they also lunge , hover , and flycatch . swainson’s thrushes often perch on low twigs or branches to survey the litter below , then dive for prey . on the forest floor , they take long , springy hops from one hunting stop to the next . in addition to the male’s haunting song , a peeping flight call , and other vocalizations , swainson’s thrushes communicate aggression and other attitudes with a variety of silent body poses and displays , such as wing - flitting , leaf - tossing , and foot - quivering . on migration stopovers , swainson’s thrushes may join multispecies foraging flocks . on breeding grounds , mating begins with the male chasing a fleeing female . as the courtship warms up , the pair progresses to slow flights and perching together . back to top
distribution : the swainson ' s thrush winters in from central mexico to guyana , western brazil , peru , bolivia , northwestern argentina and paraguay . their summer range stretches from interior alaska , across canada to the northeastern states and southward through the central pacific northwest and midwestern states . these birds were found in nearly all ecological units of yukon - charley rivers national preserve during the yukon - charley rivers national preserve bird inventory , june 1999 and 2000 . they occurred at highest density in the lower elevations of the yukon river valley ( yv ) ecological unit . swainson ' s thrush was the fourth most frequently detected bird on the bird inventory as their distinctive song is heard over long distances .
hermit thrush is the only catharus thrush to winter widely in the lower 48 . they are told by their bold black spotted underparts , and chestnut tail that contrasts with browner upperparts . this bird is safely aged as a first - winter based on its retained juvenile upperwing coverts , which are tipped buff . view this photographer ' s galleries here : urltoken
during summer , look—and especially listen—for the swainson’s thrush and its distinctive , spiraling song in closed forests of northern north america and the west . swainson’s thrushes become numerous across most of forested north america during migration in spring and fall . though these birds can be hard to spot on the ground in a dim forest understory , they sing frequently in summer and call frequently during migration . in the breeding season , listen for the species’ beautiful , flutelike song coming from rich forest . ( just remember that hermit thrushes have a similar song , though it usually includes a clear , level introductory note . ) swainson’s thrush also gives its distinctive water - drip call quite frequently . once you get eyes on a candidate , check the face for that distinctive buffy - spectacled look . on winter grounds in central and northern south america , the species inhabits closed - canopy forest and can often be found attending army - ant swarms .
the family turdidae is a diverse group of birds including thrushes , townsend ' s solitaires , northern wheatears , bluebirds , and robins . members of this family are eloquent songsters and may be found in various habitats from woodlands to open areas . all have narrow , notched bills used to feed on insects and fruits and the young have spotted breast plumage . birds of the genus catharus include the swainson ' s , gray - cheeked , and hermit thrushes . the word thrush may be derived from the greek verb
to twitter ,
reflecting the active nature of these small birds . these
spotted breasted
thrushes closely resemble one another and prefer the forest understory . although swainson ' s thrush may be seen occasionally standing or running on the forest floor , these birds spend less time on the ground than other thrushes .
according to bbs data for 1966 - 1996 , declining , but not quite significantly ( p < 0 . 20 ) . prbo banding data for 1980 - 1992 at palomarin field station , marin co . also shows insignificant decline . manly and davidson ( 1993 ) report swainson’s thrush declining in california but not in north america , from 26 years of bbs data .
the veery is redder above , and the gray - cheeked thrush lacks buffy tones in the face . hermit thrushes have a reddish tail .
winker , k . , d . w . warner , and a . r . weisbrod . 1989 . the northern waterthrush and swainson’s thrush as transients at a temperate inland stopover site . in hagan , j . m . and d . w . johnston [ eds . ] , ecology and conservation of neotropical migrant landbirds . manomet bird observatory , woods hole , ma .
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on one site in the sierra region , disturbance to riparian habitat during breeding season may have caused disruption or displacement of swainson’s thrushes in 1995 and 1996 . stefani ( 1996 ) discovered that swainson’s thrush productivity declined between the period 1989 - 91 and 1996 at a site where a waterfowl habitat creation project had commenced in fall 1995 . restoration activities continued through the breeding season of 1996 , possibly contributing to the population decline on the site . she recommends avoiding such activities during future breeding seasons . also , two active swainson’s thrrush nests were destroyed in marin co . in 1997 , as a direct result of summer fish habitat restoration activities ; the nest was inadvertantly knocked from its supporting shrub during fence - building ( prbo data 1997 ) . these examples serve merely to illustrate that timing of riparian restoration activites is critical , particularly when considering productivity of a species with a very short breeding season . predators
description : swainson’s thrush is rather warm olive brown above , and whitish below , with a distinct warm buff wash to the face , throat and breast , and a distinct buffish eye ring . underparts show more restricted spotting than in song thrush , being only weakly marked on lower breast and flanks . both sexes are alike . eyes are dusk . legs and feet are flesh coloured . bill is yellow with black tip . immature is similar to adults . birds in the east are more olive brown above ; western birds are more reddish - brown .
descriptions : swainson ' s thrush inhabits boreal coniferous woodlands and forest margins . favoring damp habitats , they may be found in the moist forest understory or near riparian thickets . their most distinctive traits are their buffy
spectacles
( eye rings joined by a band across the bill ) . these 18cm birds are brown above contrasted by a bright buffy breast with dark spots . sides and flanks are grayish brown .
behaviour : swainson’s thrush forages near ground , but higher than other thrushes . it may occasionally fly - catch insects . in winter , it follows army - ants swarms . it gleans insects from vegetation , and also forages for other invertebrates on the ground . in late summer , they feed on berries . it hovers while gleaning insects from foliage , and also catches flying insects , sometimes even in the canopy .
swainson’s thrushes eat largely insects and arthropods during the breeding season ; they also eat fruits , particularly in fall and winter . they tend to reject yellow fruits and favor red ones , going after elderberries , blackberries , raspberries , twinberries , huckleberries , and other wild fruits including those of brier , false solomon’s seal , and sumac . insect prey items include beetles , caterpillars , flies , grasshoppers , and bugs . swainson’s thrushes also feed on ants—a dietary item more commonly associated with some woodpeckers and unusual among temperate songbirds . nestlings are fed mostly insects , including especially caterpillars , beetles , moths , and flies . back to top
this species may be displaced by the hermit thrush where their ranges overlap . possibly , the latter species adapts more readily to human encroachment upon its habitat .
of the american robin , orange and gray of the varied thrush , and the earthy tones of other forest species . all juvenile thrushes are spotted on the
although swainson ' s thrush is still considered one of the most common birds of northern spruce - fir forests , populations are declining even where abundant , particularly in alaska and the northeast . in california , the breeding range of this species has contracted during the last century , and
the disappearance of the swainson ' s thrush from yosemite valley is one of the unsolved mysteries of sierran ornithology
( marshall 1988 : 367 , citing beedy and granholm 1985 ) . the trend is clear , but the reasons are not . nests are not besieged by cowbirds , but predation rates are high , resulting in low nest - success rates overall , critically low in some locales . loss of breeding habitat may be a contributing factor , including loss of mature conifer forest and forest fragmentation , but swainson ' s thrushes are relatively abundant in some early - successional habitats , such as conifer plantations ; this fact clouds the forest - management issue . on the pacific coast , loss of riparian habitat to development and grazing have likely contributed to declines . the impact of habitat changes on wintering grounds is unclear .
during the peak of migration , swainson ' s thrushes are often very common in woodlots and parks , lurking in the thickets , slipping into fruiting trees to pluck berries . although they tend to stay out of sight , the patient birder eventually can see them well enough to discern the bold buffy eye - rings that give these birds their alert or startled look . like the other brown thrushes , swainson ' s migrate mostly at night , and their distinctive callnotes can be heard from overhead on clear nights during spring and fall .
, seattle audubon ' s on - line breeding bird atlas of island , king , kitsap , and kittitas counties .
this species account is dedicated in honor of carol sisler , member of the cornell lab of ornithology ' s administrative board .
the more i learn about god and his creation , the more in awe and humbled i am at his greatness , his beauty and his love . the fact that god allows man to discover new things about his creation and learn more about the world he made is a humbling thought , especially when we , as humans don ' t always give him the praise or credit he is due . god ' s wisdom is shown in his varied and wondrous works . the swainson ' s thrush ' s song is one of the many voices in creation that praises their creator . we should do the same and humble ourselves before him because , after all , who are we in comparison to god himself ?
no published nest data exists for swainson’s thrush in california , and little exists for the russet - backed subspecies overall . data has been reported for seven nests located near juneau , ak ( rogers 1994 ) . according to diane evans , compiler of swth bna species account , very little nest data , published or unpublished , exists for the pacific coast region besides prbo and krrc nest data collected between 1995 and 1997 in marin county ( pers . comm . ) .
thrushes are well represented in north america with sixty species in thirteen genera ( including the extinct grand cayman thrush and amahui of hawaii ) . this family includes well known birds such as the american robin and bluebirds , and lesser known birds such as the townsend ' s solitaire of western mountain forests .
dilger , w . c . 1956a . adaptive modifications and ecological isolating mechanisms in the thrush genera catharus and hylocichla . wilson bull . no . 68 : 171 - 199 . close
they nest from early june to late july , building cups out of grasses , stems , small twigs , and moss in trees and shrubs . their nests can be found up to 6 metres high , but the average height is usually around 2 . 5 metres high . i found one , possibly two swainson’s thrush nests during our years here in tagish . the first was about two meters high in a small spruce tree with three brown - speckled blue eggs in it . the female seemed to only incubate at night , as i saw her once at 5 : 30 am , and not once during the day . unfortunately , the nest was found by a squirrel , and all of the eggs were destroyed . the second nest was just this past summer . i don’t know for sure if it was a swainson’s thrush , but it was being built on a ledge just under the eves of our outdoor shower . it was a cup nest of grass . we did have a swainson’s thrush nesting in there the year we moved here , but a weasel ate the eggs . this nest remained incomplete ; i guess the couple didn’t like their view . usually one to five eggs are laid , and are incubated by the female for about twelve to thirteen days . the female will only begin incubation after she has laid the third egg . when the eggs hatch , the hatchlings are fed by both parents and usually fledge after ten to twelve days .
none of the thrushes of mainland north america are considered threatened although populations of the wood thrush have declined in many areas possibly due to deforestation on its breeding and central american wintering grounds . most hawaiian solitaries , though , have become critically endangered or have gone extinct because of changes to their fragile habitat and susceptibility to avian malaria . ornithologists are also concerned about the future of some species , such as the bicknell ' s thrush , due to destruction and development of their small wintering habitat areas .
stanwood , c . j . 1913 . the olive - backed thrush ( hylocichla ustulata swainsoni ) at his summer home . wilson bull . no . 25 : 118 - 137 . close
dunne , p . ( 2006 ) . pete dunne ' s essential field guide companion . houghton mifflin harcourt , new york , usa .
swainson’s thrushes nest in shady sites in the forest understory—especially in thickets of deciduous shrubs or conifer saplings , mostly 3–10 feet off the ground . they build their nests on plants such as willow , fir , spruce , blackberry , alder , aspen , birch , maple , oak , briers , gooseberry , rose , and sumac .
you can also add more appeal to your yard for swainson ' s thrushes by adding coniferous evergreens for cover . since insects also make up a large part of a thrush ' s diet , ceasing the use of pesticides will make your yard even more bird pleasing and therefore , they will spend more time in your yard where you can enjoy them . of course , since thrushes dwell primarily on forest floors , having a forest or woodland nearby your home is key to enjoying these fabulous singing birds . if you don ' t have a woodland , forest or densely treed area nearby your home , chances are that you will have to go elsewhere to enjoy thrushes .
with spotted breast and reddish tail , the hermit thrush lives up to its name . although celebrated for its ethereal song , it is mostly a quiet and unobtrusive bird that spends much of its time in the lower branches of the undergrowth or on the forest floor , often seen flicking its wings while perched and quickly raising and slowly lowering its tail . a highly variable species in color and size , the hermit thrush ' s morphological characteristics and plumage have been well studied , with 12 - 13 subspecies now recognized ( see systematics ) .
swainson ' s thrushes are highly migratory , and none winter in washington . they arrive late in spring , and migration is spread out , with spring migrants appearing in late may in eastern washington . fall migration takes place during august and september . migration is mostly at night . the birds migrate to tropical forests for the winter .
johnson and geupel ( 1996 ) suggest that habitat specificity on their breeding grounds may be the basis for swainson’s thrushes being limited in the summer . they outline degree of habitat specificity by season : in breeding season swainson’s thrushes are riparian woodland specialists ( grinnell and miller 1944 , bent 1949 , verner and boss 1980 ) , on migration they use a range of habitats ( winker et al 1992 ) , and in winter they are possibly nomadic ( ramos and warner 1980 , rappole and warner 1980 ) , although there are arguments against this
winter nomad
interpretation ( marshall 1988 ) . they report a high hy return rate of 18 . 3 % at the palomarin field station in marin county , ca and hypothesize that
scarcity of habitat may limit dispersal possibilities .
bent ( 1949 ) describes a contrast in habitat preference between the two subspecies , stating that the western russet - backed subspecies most typically nests in willow - alder thickets , while the eastern olive - backed subspecies prefers young conifers . verner and boss ( 1980 ) state that in the western sierra , swainson’s thrushes prefer dense thickets near streams or wet meadows . swainson’s thrushes were found to be more abundant in riparian habitats than upland habitats on mixed - conifer study sites in the cascade mountains , lane county , oregon ( anthony et al 1996 ) .
thrushes are most well known for their beautiful flute - like songs ; an attribute shared by many north american thrush species . the caroling song of the american robin is often viewed as a harbinger of spring .
team wild , an elite squadron of science superheroes , needs your help ! your mission : protect and conserve the planet’s species and habitats from destruction .
in a study of avian abundance in riparian habitat of the cascade mountains , lane county , oregon , breeding densities differed by seral stage . plots were characterized as old - growth ( 400 - 450 yrs ) , mature ( 130 - 200 yrs ) , and young ( 25 - 35 yrs ) . young plots had been clearcut ; mature , even - aged plots had burned in a fire in the 1850s ; and old - growth were natural , unlogged forests . swainson’s thrush was least abundant in old - growth ( 6 . 50 / 40 ha ,
one of the most beautiful sounds on a spring or summer evening is the soft fluting calls of thrushes , making music in their woodland home . when i think of that family of birds it makes me think of their beautiful reedy like songs , softly lulling the day to sleep at sunset . its such a wonderful experience to witness these nightly concerts and its one of my favorite things about spring and summer . well known for their delightful songs , thrushes are truly virtuosos when it comes to their singing abilities . no matter where you live in the united states , with the proper habitat , you are sure to have one or more species from this family of birds to serenade you with a morning and evening song . here in the pacific northwest we have a few different types of thrushes , the varied thrush and american robin are year round residents here . we also have the hermit thrush in the winter and the western bluebird and swainson ' s thrush in the spring and summer . yes , the robin and bluebird are thrushes ! their young ' s spotted plumage ( especially on their chests ) is a clue to their family heritage .
people have developed different instruments over the years to play various types of music . some musical instruments like the flute , clarinet and saxophone are called woodwinds . they play beautiful music and are often used in orchestras and bands . but did you know that god created some thrushes with a woodwind - like song ? that ' s right , god thought of it first ! thrushes like the swainson ' s produce reedy flute - like calls which they sing in chorus in spring and summer at dawn and dusk .
swainson’s thrushes breed mainly in coniferous forests , except in coastal california where they are found primarily in deciduous streamside woodlands , alder or willow thickets , and occasionally in coastal scrub . these birds range from sea level up to about 8 , 500 feet in elevation . in coastal california , where their habitat may depend on the presence of fog , they tend to stay below about 500 feet . during migration , swainson’s thrushes occupy a wide variety of habitats , seeking mainly areas with dense undergrowth . look for migrants especially in forests , canyon bottoms , young woodland , swamp forests , lake edges , and parks . winter habitat includes primary and old second - growth tropical forest and forest - pasture edges . back to top
verner , j . and a . s . boss . 1980 . california wildlife and their habitats : western sierra nevada . gen . tech . rep . psw - 37 . pacific southwest forest and range exp . stn . , usfs , u . s . dept . agric . , berkeley , ca .
swainson’s thrushes declined and eventually disappeared over a 5 year period ( 1989 - 1994 ) from a 11 . 7 ha bbc plot in san diego county , after heavy spring flooding scoured the understory in the years 1991 - 93 ( weaver 1989 - 1994 ) . they have since returned , with three males detected countersinging in 1997 ( weaver , pers . comm ) .


the texas ( gray ) wolf ( † canis lupus monstrabilis ) is a possible extinct subspecies of gray wolf , distinct from the texas red wolf ( canis rufus var . " rufus " ) , whose range once included southern and western texas and northeastern mexico .

it is darker than its more northern cousins , and has a highly arched frontal bone .

as of 2005 , it is considered a valid subspecies by msw3 , though it is classed as either a synonym of c. l. nubilus or c. l. baileyi by the united states fish and wildlife service .

texas wolf

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america’s ‘other wolf’ was reintroduced to the wild after a last - ditch roundup in texas .
texas will have to watch the recovery from afar . wendy connally of tpwd’s wildlife diversity program says the agency considers the red wolf extirpated in texas with no plans for recovery here .
uploaded on june 15 , 2010 . published by the texas state historical association .
glynn riley , a government trapper who witnessed the red wolf’s final days in texas , sees something wild and majestic in the red wolf . he is known for saying that “a mountain with a wolf on it stands a little taller . ”
at one time , there were two species of wolves in texas : the southeastern red wolf ( canis rufus ) and the once more widespread gray wolf ( canis lupus ) . the favorite among southwest conservationists is a subspecies of the gray wolf called the mexican gray wolf ( canis lupus baileyi ) .
texas was wolf country and the wolf is as much a part of texas natural history as the armadillo . but while armadillos are thriving , the future of the mexican wolf in texas is not secure . in the late 90s , mexican wolves were released into the greater gila area into arizona and eventually new mexico . these wolves have struggled to survive for a variety of reasons - - most of them because of conflict or perceived conflict between humans and wolves .
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what did texas lose when the red wolves were carried away ? some might say good riddance .
the texas gray wolf was classified as subspecies canis lupus monstrabilis in 1937 by biologist edward a . goldman . it became extinct just 5 years later in 1942 .
our guide reminded us several times that the greatest enemy of the wolf is man . wolves have been hunted to extinction in many regions ( including texas ) . the destruction of the wolf population has been a huge conservation issue for decades .
wolf / wolfdog assistance : if you need assistance with a wolf or wolfdog , see our wolfdog help page . if you are thinking about a wolf or wolfdog as a pet , please read this page .
releasing wolves in texas will not be an easier sell than it was in new mexico and arizona . still , there are many reasons why wolves should be released in texas , and especially in big bend country . the first reason is that wolves belong in the lone star state . they are part of the natural heritage of texas , and should be returned to their rightful place .
status though the texas gray wolf is considered by many to be a distinct subspecies , other versions of wolf taxonomy recognized the subspecies as belonging to either canis lupus baileyi or canis lupus nubilus . as stated above , they became extinct just 5 years after first being recognized as a separate subspecies .
in the canid family , the red wolf seems to suffer from middle child syndrome .
some folks in southeast texas still report seeing red wolves or something like them roaming the prairies and marshes of the area . certainly , some red wolf genes would have been passed down through the years so that a little bit of the red wolf still lives on in the coyotes of the bayou country .
after the red wolf roundup , a captive breeding program was set up at the point defiance zoo in tacoma , wash . the breeding program was expanded to zoos across the country , and in texas , fossil rim wildlife center in glen rose , the texas zoo in victoria and the fort worth zoo have captive red wolves and participate in the program .
habitat it could once be found from southeastern new mexico throughout central texas , all the way down to the mexican border and into louisiana .
originally listed as endangered march 11 , 1967 . mexican gray wolf listed as an endangered subspecies april 28 , 1976 . reintroduced population of mexican gray wolf listed as experimental nonessential in portions of az and nm on jan . 12 , 1998 . minnesota population reclassified as threatened march 9 , 1978 . currently extirpated from texas .
why is there a dog at a wolf sanctuary ? evidently once the label “wolf” is slapped onto a canine it can be incredibly difficult to remove , even if it is incorrect .
so , of course , with less than two weeks left in texas , one of my main missions was to meet some wolves face to face .
distribution in texas . the gray wolf formerly ranged over the western two - thirds of the state , but now is extirpated over all of the west , including texas . the last authenticated reports of gray wolves in texas are of two males , the skulls of which were donated to sul ross state university . according to james scuddy , one wolf was shot december 5 , 1970 , on the cathedral mountain ranch , 27 km south of alpine , brewster county . the other was trapped several days before december 28 , 1970 , on the joe neal brown ranch located at about the point where brewster , pecos , and terrell counties meet .
in south central texas the wolf hunt survives as a living fragment of a wild past . dogs , pickup trucks , campfires and an occasional howl in the desolate night are the background for hunters ' tales of wily predators made even more clever by civilization
mexican wolves once roamed across west texas , new mexico , arizona and northern mexico . after a century of persecution , poisonings , trapping and a great deal of ignorance , the last wolves were recorded in arizona , new mexico and in texas in 1970 . all three of these remaining mexican lobos were killed .
every donation , no matter the size , helps tremendously . to financially support saint francis wolf sanctuary ,
saint francis wolf sanctuary is a 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) nonprofit charity in montgomery , texas , whose mission is to rescue and provide a loving , exceptional home to non - releasable wolves and wolfdogs , and to educate the public about these animals .
photo of captive mexican gray wolf m968 at sevilleta courtesy of the u . s . fish and wildlife service
in 1962 , an austin college professor named howard mccarley sounded the alarm about the red wolf and its unexpected spiral toward extinction . he pointed out that what people thought were wolves were actually coyotes or wolf - coyote hybrids .
the wolf’s howl helped reveal the dire situation . in the mid - 1960s , biologists went in search of the red wolf in places across the southeast where the wolf was thought to live . they drove back roads at night playing taped wolf howls — a sound the wolves can’t resist answering — and listened for a response . the choruses of answering howls came from both wolves and coyotes , and they focused in on the howls that were distinctly wolfish .
a mountain without a wolf on it , then , must stand a little shorter , and a state without a wolf , well , will have to settle for the long - faded howls of a misunderstood creature of the night .
the injustice of removing wolves with the desire of making this permanent has been a tragedy on many levels . that last wolf wandering across brewster county had to wonder what was happening .
where have all the others gone ?
it must have wondered . yet that was not the last wolf to die in texas . sul ross state university ( srsu ) in alpine , texas , picked the wolf ( also known as the lobo ) as their mascot as early as 1924 when there still had to be a number of wolves wandering across the borderlands . the first lobo mascot was given to the university in 1925 . it was kept in captivity and appeared at games . history does not record what happened to this individual .
the extirpation of the wolf over most of its former range released predator pressure on such big game as deer , which in part created a serious problem of overpopulation of this game animal in several localities in texas . that wolves play a valuable role in the economy of big game animals is frequently overlooked .
additionally , many of the wolfdogs who wind up in sanctuaries were once pets . the legality of owning a wolfdog varies from state to state ( and in texas , from county to county ) .
gray wolf . the gray wolf ( canis lupus ) , popularly called the
loafer
or the
lobo ,
once flourished in texas but is now practically extinct there . the male of this large , doglike carnivore weighs some 130 pounds and reaches six feet from tail - tip to nose . the gray wolf is an intelligent social animal with powerful jaws and a distinctive mournful howl . its young are born in late winter in litters of five to fourteen , after a sixty - three - day gestation period . the lobo typically dens in a crevice of a rocky bluff ; the rugged eastern edge of the llano estacado afforded a favorite location . the geographical range of the gray wolf was confined to south and west texas , southeast new mexico , and northeast mexico . the lobo , styled the marathon runner of texas fauna , can reach speeds of twenty - two to twenty - eight miles an hour for the first two miles , and thereafter trot at eleven or twelve miles an hour for the next five to eight miles . thus it can outrun its prey in an extended chase .
the second and last lobo mascot arrived at srsu in 1966 . reports say this wolf arrived from tucson and was given the name sully . they later discovered that the wolf was a female and was thereafter referred to as miss sully . i remember seeing miss sully in a small cage on the main drive through the campus . the cage had virtually no shelter , and was small and confined . in my eyes , this was a terrible way to treat any animal . miss sully died in 1974 . some coward decided they didn’t even like this one captive wolf in texas and they threw poisoned meat into her cage . no doubt miss sully died a horrible death and the killer was never brought to justice . she deserved better , as did the thousands of wolves in west texas that went before her .
the fish and wildlife service considers the red wolf a distinct species , though its taxonomic status isn’t completely clear and debate is ongoing .
all of us at texas wolfdog project hope to provide current and potential new owners with the information and resources to better care for their wolfdog and / or wolfdogs they may share their life with in the future .
not far from the urban sprawl of houston , nestled among rural farms and untouched fields , lies what is known as the best kept secret of montgomery , texas : a safe haven for wolves and wolfdogs alike .
the coyote is the trickster in native american lore — clever and highly adaptable . the gray wolf is a cunning , fearsome creature . the red wolf is … what , exactly ? the problem was that red wolves had mostly died off before anyone could study them in the wild . the red wolf is somehow considered less “wolfy” than the gray wolf , yet it’s more than just a large coyote . like other wolves , red wolves live in small packs . they feed on rabbits , raccoons and nutria ; they are elusive and generally avoid humans .
the wild population now clocks in at 100 to 130 animals , with 175 more in captivity . reintroduction of the red wolf stands as a true conservation triumph — it was the first predator restored after being declared extinct in the wild and paved the way for future wolf reintroductions .
all copyrighted materials included within the handbook of texas online are in accordance with title 17 u . s . c . section 107 related to copyright and “fair use” for non - profit educational institutions , which permits the texas state historical association ( tsha ) , to utilize copyrighted materials to further scholarship , education , and inform the public . the tsha makes every effort to conform to the principles of fair use and to comply with copyright law .
for generations , wolves have evoked hatred and fear in people . it was government policy to eradicate red wolves until people realized there were hardly any left . passionately persecuted with gun , trap and poison , they almost disappeared . once , red wolves roamed as a top predator across the southeastern u . s . , from florida to texas and as far north as pennsylvania . by the 1960s , through predator control and habitat loss , they were reduced to a sliver of marginal habitat in the bayou country along the gulf coast . in texas , the red wolf had its last stand .
of course , it isn’t all bleak . while wolves have yet to be reintroduced into the wild in texas , other parts of the united states , such as yellowstone national park , have enjoyed huge successes in their programs .
they were dismayed by what they found . the red wolf no longer roamed its familiar territory . the biologists determined that the only red wolves remaining were hemmed in along a stretch of coast in southeastern texas and southwestern louisiana . it seemed to be an unlikely final redoubt for the forest - loving wolf — coastal prairies and marshes that are a stone’s throw from houston , galveston and beaumont , in the shadow of one of the most industrialized areas of the country , an area of rice farms , cattle ranches and oilfields .
our human woman - chasing wolves come well by their names . the male wolf has an exceptionally strong sex drive , and before his lifetime mate has arrived on the scene , he will sometimes go prospecting among the young ladies of the nearest domestic canine community . in red river county in northeast texas the offspring of one of these clandestine trysts had all the physical characteristics of a wolf but the head of a bulldog . wolves have been known to break into shacks housing female dogs in heat , spend long happy hours under the texas moon and leave their female friends with gaudy , purple memories . earl needham knows a man who mated a wolf with a black and tan , a hound dedicated with every fibre of its being to the slaughter of wolves . the offspring was a house divided .
he didn ' t know whether to hunt himself ,
says needham ,
or hunt himself !
a 1970 texas parks and wildlife department survey of red wolves , using a hand - cranked air - raid siren on the back of a pickup to elicit howls , found at least 100 wolves , mainly in jefferson , chambers and liberty counties .
it is this adaptability , this extrasensory survival instinct , that makes the red wolf so formidable a quarry . even when 40 or 50 hounds jump a wolf , the odds remain strongly in the wolf ' s favor .
some people say the dogs has the same chance the wolf has ,
says needham ,
but experience has showed that ' s just not true .
the wolves will sometimes relay the dogs . with the pack in hot pursuit , a second wolf will cut across the trail and take the whole pack of hounds with him . after an hour or so at a 15 - to 20 - mile - an - hour pace , the second wolf will hand the pack back to the first wolf , now well rested . after four or five hours of this , the hounds will be so exhausted that they will lose all chance of making a kill . sometimes three or four wolves will separate a hound from the pack and make a kill of their own , first nipping the dog ' s hamstring to immobilize him and then applying the coup to the dog ' s throat .
saint francis wolf sanctuary could always use an extra set of helping hands . if you want to help make a difference we have multiple positions available . see our
the gray wolf is a close relative of domestic dogs . its thick fur ranges in color from creamy white , reddish - brown , to shades of gray and black . gray wolves are the largest species of wolf and range between 50 - 90 pounds and 4 - 5 feet long . adult males are larger than adult females .
wolves bark , whimper and growl , too , but it’s the howl that fascinates us . in texas , the red wolf’s howl echoed for the last time across the forests and plains more than 30 years ago , when biologists rounded up the final ragtag group of wolves in a last - ditch effort to save the species . today , the howls of wild red wolves can be heard only on a marshy peninsula of eastern north carolina , where they were reintroduced after being declared extinct in the wild . this past summer i joined about 30 people there for a red wolf “howling safari” and heard their wild call .
the hero of this melodrama set to music is , of course , the noble wolf , and no one respects the tawny reddish animal more than earl needham .
he is the galliest critter and the smartest critter you ever seen , and it takes a mighty smart hound dog to keep up with him ,
says needham , who speaks in a wondrously clear and simple texas twang that would have gladdened the ears of george bernard shaw .
you could live on a acre of land with a wolf family for years and years and you ' d never even know they was there .
one reason is that the wolf does not hunt near his den , lest he give away the whereabouts of his defenseless pups . says needham :
sometimes i ' ll get a call from some rancher that wolves is chewing up his turkeys or his sheep , and will i come out with my hounds and catch him . first thing i do is i don ' t even bother looking for the wolf within three , four miles of that ranch . if a wolf is killing on a ranch , that means his den is nowheres near .
saint francis wolf sanctuary is growing thanks to the amazing support of people like you , and will need to relocate by 2019 . for more info and to help , visit our
gray wolves were once found throughout north america . historically , gray wolves were found over the western 2 / 3 of the state . today , none remain in texas . its status in mexico is unknown , and it may be extirpated ( no longer exists in mexico ) .
the saint francis wolf sanctuary is the only facility of its kind in the area , and houses fifteen gorgeous animals ( as of september 2015 ) , all with varying degrees of wolf and dog in them . it’s truly a unique haven for these animals : a place where they are given lives as close as possible to those they would have in the wild .
it’s been a rough journey for america’s “other wolf , ” full of cliffhangers and near - catastrophes . as a species , it has been to the brink of oblivion and back . today , the red wolf is an endangered species success story , though many challenges still stand in the animal’s way . this year marked the 25th anniversary of its reintroduction into the wild .
in the case of the wolf , a few of the traits they look for include muzzle shape , forehead slope , ear shape , and , of course , that distinctive eye color .
to understand wolf hunters like needham , one first has to throw out all previous conceptions of hunting . wolf hunting is a visual and an auditory experience , an affair of the senses . no shots are fired , and there is no ridiculous stomping through jungles and forests . mainly , wolf hunters spectate . in the absence of train whistles they drive their pickups to the outback , sound loud police sirens across the night , listen for answering cries from wolves and then release their hounds as close to the wolves as possible , all in the hope of starting a
race ,
the long run that may take wolf and hounds 100 miles in diminishing circles before the quarry goes down in a frenzy of snapping teeth or , as is more commonly the case , until the wolf gets away . while this is transpiring , the hunters sit alongside their pickups , drinking coffee , telling wolf - and - bull stories and reveling in the cacophony of a pack of hounds hot on the scent .
that is the real reason we are here ,
says burly earl needham .
the sounds and the hounds .
red wolves , lanky predators native to the southeast , are smaller than gray wolves and larger than coyotes . their coats aren’t truly red but range from tan to black with reddish highlights . in texas , red wolves lived in the eastern part of the state and gray wolves in the west .
two issues , however , continue to plague the red wolf recovery . the coyote continued its eastward march and since the mid - 1990s has taken up residence near the red wolf . the constant crush of coyotes is like that throbbing headache that won’t go away . worried about hybridization , wildlife managers have been sterilizing the coyotes and putting them back as placeholders to keep other coyotes out .
just take a look at this fabulous video by sustainable human about the long - term influence wolf reintroduction has had on yellowstone . yes , they have actually changed the geography of the park .
answer : though all of our animals are fed a balanced raw diet , if that cannot be properly maintained by any potential adopters or owners , texas wolfdog project recommends a high quality , grain free kibble for normal , everyday feeding . some wolfdogs , usually high contents , can be intolerant to certain grains / processed foods .
our tour guide helped to dispel some common myths about wolves ( myth # 1 : wolves are openly aggressive toward humans ) , as well as provided a brief history lesson , explaining how dogs came to be . he also talked a bit about the modern laws regarding the ownership of wolfdogs , which vary by county in texas .
needham ' s own wolf dogs come in all shapes and sizes , for the test of a wolf dog is not his pedigree but whether , when the issue is joined , the hound will tangle willingly with the slashing teeth of a wolf . as needham puts it ,
some hunters won ' t use anything but a registered dog ; the pedigree got to be three feet long . but that paper don ' t run that wolf . trial and error is what you use till you got the right dog . i ' ve used all kinds of hounds : walkers , julys , blue ticks , triggs , black and tans , goodmans and what we call ' potlickers , ' mixed breeds . they cost me about $ 150 apiece , and if i get one good dog out of every coupla dozen i buy i figure i ' m lucky .
after a dog has learned how to hunt wolves , he must be kept in shape , like any other athlete , and the only way to keep him in shape is to keep him running wolves .
it ' s like trainin ' a fighter to fight ,
says needham .
you got to have those dogs hard as arn to catch wolves . so you got to hunt ' em . they won ' t exercise , and if you don ' t hunt ' em for a few weeks they get fat and sloppy and short in the wind .
the discerning reader already will have noted a strong similarity between wolf hounds and baseball pitchers , in matters other than appearance . both can function like machines so long as they keep in motion , but as soon as they stop for any appreciable length of time they stiffen up and become useless . fay autry , a county commissioner in east texas , learned this the painful way and is still paying a stiff price in smart remarks by his friends . autry ' s dogs had spent four hours catching a wolf and working it over , and now the animal was presumed dead . autry had roped the wolf and dragged it out of the brush when he noticed that one of his dogs was lagging behind as though injured . he let go of the wolf to administer to the dog , and when he turned around the
dead
wolf was gone . not one of the dogs in the pack had deigned to give chase .
they were so tired and sore ,
said the rueful autry ,
that they wouldn ' t even look for the trail .
needham had a similar experience . a wolf , certified dead by a coroner ' s jury of wolf hunters , was pitched over a barbed - wire fence toward needham .
that wolf came down on his four feet and took right off into the cedar brush ,
needham recalls .
lucky i had one big old dog left with enough energy to go catch him again . the rest of my hounds had cooled out .
to any but close friends , these insinuations about the dogliness of a man ' s pack would be fighting words , but these men are old hunting partners , and no blood is drawn . soon the hour , the wind and the temperature are deemed correct , and the hunters file out , load their pickups with hounds and listen to commander in chief earl needham ' s final words of advice , spoken in a pure texas idiom :
y ' all go to whar you blowed the sireen the other night . carl , you know whar you blowed the other night ? we goin ' up to ernie bee ' s and listen . i ' m just gonna go back in on that hill so if they howl i can turn loose on ' em . and y ' all ' ll know whar we at if we don ' t come down outa there now ?
in a cloud of exhaust fumes the convoy of dog - carrying trucks takes off into the black texas night , and another wolf hunt is on . till dawn it continues , like a battle , with needham deploying his troops , reassembling his dogs , sending his hunters far up backcountry roads to sound their
sireens
and occasionally joining them all around a camp - fire , there to chew some coffee and some fat . observing this frustrating night , when not a wolf is heard or seen but only miles and miles of wolf tracks that might have been made by phantoms , an outsider gets the impression that the prospect of executing a wild animal is just a peg to hang the evening on , a texas way of staying up all night with the boys and getting away with it .
characteristics on average , they had a small to medium build . though they were not quite as small as the mexican wolf . most were of a rather dark color , though some specimens have shown that they were occasionally white .
answer : 12 - 18 years , though this can largely depend on the dog breeds in the mix and the wolf content . either way , wolfdog ownership is a serious commitment for several years / the duration of their life .
the red wolf program broke new ground again when it started a program called pup fostering , where captive - born pups are placed in dens with wild litters and raised as wild wolves — an innovation that helped increase the population .
answer : there is no simple answer for this because this greatly depends on the individual animal and the amount of wolf that has been inherited . generally speaking , your lower content or animals that express more dog like traits overall will be more easily adaptable to home type living , possibly even being inside full time without any incidents . an animal that has inherited and expresses more wolf like traits , tend to require an owner experienced with these behaviors as well as proper containment and enrichment outside . short , supervised sessions in a “wolf proofed” environment is usually the extent of a higher content wolfdogs inside time due to their nature to investigate with their mouths , despite all attempts to curb this behavior .
public outcry for establishing populations of mexican wolves in the american southwest actually began in texas . in the 70s , rick lobello , an employee at big bend , began gathering support for the release of the species in the park . that has yet to happen , but a debt is owed to rick for starting the process . now is the time to do this .
but the ultimate offense against the code of the hunt is the dog that gets too smart , the so - called
cutting dog .
he ' ll chase that wolf with the rest of the pack for a while ,
says needham ,
till he figures out the pattern the wolf ' s runnin ' in . wolves usually run in circles , five or six miles around , and they keep passin ' the same checkpoints over and over again during the race . now this smart dog ' ll dope this out , and he ' ll find a spot where the wolf is crossin ' and lay there waitin ' for him , and when that wolf comes by the dog ' ll take out after him ahead of the pack . now we consider that downright unfair . we try to make the race equal to all the dogs , and this cuttin ' dog is cheatin ' because he ' s not makin ' the whole race . so we get rid of him .
the wolf sanctuary itself is not a huge complex . you can see most of the enclosures without moving , if you’re standing in the right spot . as a result , the tour is more heavily geared towards educating visitors and introducing them to the animals .
while all the organizations participating in urltoken share the common goal of recovering the mexican gray wolf , individual groups can , and sometimes do , differ in their approaches to specific issues . © 2016 - view our privacy policy - contact us : info @ urltoken
the ever - adaptable coyote had been increasingly taking over territory from the shattered red wolf . red wolves had lost their foothold so badly that they were interbreeding with coyotes . and in the delirium of disaster , the resulting “hybrid swarm” was threatening to overtake the species .
habits . the gray wolf inhabits forests , brushlands , or grasslands , preferring broken , open country in which suitable cover and denning sites are available . formerly , wolves occurred commonly in the grassland plains of the buffalo on which they relied for their chief food supply .
part of the reason it has become so easy to ban or regulate wolfdogs is because there is no usda approved rabies vaccine for wolfdogs crosses in the united states . this is used as leverage against owners to ban , regulate or otherwise deny vet care to many wolfdogs . avoiding the use of the words wolf , hybrid , wolfdog or wolf mix on any paperwork could save your animals life . finding a vet that will provide your wolfdog with all the proper vaccinations ( including rabies ) as well as a legal rabies certificate is extremely important .
each of the animals comes with its own story . some were brought here from the houston area , while others come from as far away as alaska . each has found a safe , secure home under the attentive care of the volunteers at the saint francis wolf sanctuary .
with homo sapiens slowly vanishing from the landscape , wildlife has moved back in . wildcats and gophers abound , blackbirds blot out the sun in flights of tens of thousands , roadrunners and larks and hawks wheel about . the armadillo , once a rare sight , considers the area around flatonia to be his levittown and provides the wolf with a steady staple of diet . sometimes hunters will find as many as 50 vacant armadillo shells around wolf dens . but few men share the wolf ' s enthusiasm for the flavor of the
poverty pig .
says hunter bill stulting :
we barbecued a armadiller once , but it was a old one and the longer i chewed it the bigger it got . i threw it away .
on wolf hunts at night one sees armadillos gnawing away at roots in the fields ; they look like miniature knights of yore all dressed for the lists but , unlike knights , they are easily frightened . sometimes their first reaction to danger is a jump straight up in the air , right out of the terrytoons , followed by a 50 - yard dash that would do credit to bob hayes .
andrew sansom , former tpwd executive director , says he led an effort to get red wolves released on matagorda island in the 1990s . he liked the idea of having the wolf back near its final stronghold , but federal officials , pointing to the threat of coyotes , thought differently .
then , he went on to discuss the different phenotypes ( science word of the day ! a phenotype is a fancy word for a physical trait , like eye color ) that help the volunteers determine whether an animal is a wolf , a dog , or a mix of the two .
it has been argued that the lobo ' s impact on the frontier range was a good one because it reduced the numbers of old , weak , and infirm animals . this view was likely true when the lobo ' s main prey was the buffalo . by the late 1870s , after hide - hunters had reduced the southern buffalo herd to near extinction , stockmen introduced herds of the domestic cow . the lobo ' s role then changed dramatically . the wolf apparently liked the best available cows as well as the sick ones . stockmen complained bitterly . it was not unusual for a rancher to find a prime cow missing ten pounds of flesh from a rear loin . furthermore , the wolf had a reputation for blatant overkill ; once , eight cows were found dead or dying , and evidence suggested that a single wolf had been there . recent books have confirmed that the lobo killed beyond its needs .
answer : wolfdogs are any cross of a wolf bred to a dog , a wolfdog bred to another wolfdog or a wolfdog bred to a dog with varying amounts of wolf heritage . the majority of wolfdogs being produced now are from wolfdog to wolfdog pairings . pure wolves are not as common for private ownership breeding in recent years . wolfdogs are purposely bred and sold by breeders in many states across the united states . wolves are not pulled from the wild for stock . most foundation animals have been captive bred and raised for over 40 years , dating back to the fur farms in the 60’s and 70’s .
answer : this is also a question that would be dependent on the individual animal’s temperament and experience with children . texas wolfdog project generally advises that wolfdogs should not be in homes with children under 12 . due to the size of most wolfdogs , sometimes heightened drives and resource guarding , placing an animal in an experienced home or one without kids is usually the best option for all parties involved , especially if that animal has never previously been raised around or exposed to younger children .
at one point , several red wolves got it into their heads that when needham loaded his hunting dogs into his truck and drove off into the night the safest place to be was right there at the camp house , the jumping - off spot .
i ' d come back from huntin ' all night , without a sign of any wolf , and my dogs ' d be all whupped out , and we ' d find wolf tracks all around the camp house . while we was off huntin ' ' em , them scouns was back there tryin ' to dig under the fence and get the dogs ' dinner .
earl needham , a middle - aged cattleman from the little cow town of flatonia , texas , is in no immediate peril of being mistaken for a werewolf , though even his best friends would have to admit that there are points of resemblance . at night long strings of empties rattle through flatonia , and when the engineers whistle for the crossing there often is heard an answering call from out on the range . the wolves of texas , after all these years , are still inclined to think of the night trains as brethren , and their answering howls easily could be taken from the sound track of a werewolf movie . no hair grows on earl needham ' s face when these cries are heard across the prairie , but in other respects he is likely to emulate our movie hero . carefully remembering to open the door first , needham rushes into the night , jumps into his pickup truck , drives out to his camp house , assembles his pack of hounds and rides to the hunt .
wolf hunters can tell exactly what ' s going on during a hunt by the sounds made by their dogs , by what they call the dog ' s
mouth .
we got all kinds ,
needham says ,
and you just have to learn to tell ' em apart , one by one . we got dogs that on a cold trail they may be bawlin ' , wailin ' and squallin ' . then they get on up there close to that wolf and they ' ll begin to chop a little bit , shorter barks . they ' re changin ' their mouth now , and you can tell from this how things are goin ' . course , there ' s different mouth dogs—some of them are squallin ' mouth dogs till they start runnin ' , but a squallin ' mouth dog don ' t usually give as much mouth when he starts to runnin ' a wolf . there ' s chop mouth , coarse mouth , fine mouth , horn mouth that sounds like a horn , and bawlin ' dogs . we got a dog that ' s a goose - mouth dog and another one is a turkey - mouth dog : talk , talk , talk , talk , like a old turkey gobbler . we got dogs with high screamin ' mouths that gives a lot of mouth , very loud , and they scare a wolf and make ' em move out and tire their - selves . when my dogs take out after a wolf , i can tell each dog and what he ' s doing and what his mouth means . you get to know ' em . it ' s just like you listenin ' to a crowd of people and you can recognize different voices .
with time running out , the government took desperate and drastic action : it decided to remove the red wolves and put them in captivity with hopes of reintroducing them into the wild someday . despite the hope and intent of the endangered species act , wildlife managers decided to make the red wolf extinct in the wild in order to save it .
the gray wolf eats animals ranging from mice to cows and spends around one - third of its time in search of food . it becomes engorged by eating a fifth of its weight at a single meal , then goes three or four days without food . though it usually runs in packs , pioneer texans also noted that the lobo hunts in pairs . the female snaps at a cow ' s nose , while the male watches for an opportunity to dart in and sever the victim ' s hamstring . because the gray wolf often eats its victims alive , one stockman called it the
cruelest predator .
in the 1880s in dakota country , theodore roosevelt called it the
beast of waste and desolation .
the demise of mexican wolves in texas was complete by 1970 . in that year , two were killed in december at separate locations in brewster county where big bend national park is located . under natural conditions , wolves fed on a large variety of animals , with deer making up a large percentage of the total . opportunistically , they will feed on just about anything , including rabbits , squirrels , birds and reptiles . when natural game is scarce , wolves may take livestock , but in a functioning , healthy ecosystem this is the exception , not the rule .
as if the poor hound dog doesn ' t have enough problems , he is expected to follow a code of ethics as strict and inflexible as the rules for admission to the junior league .
silent trailing ,
for example , is a major breach of the code . a silent trailer will jump a wolf track and go off in quiet pursuit , single - o , leaving the pack far behind . if he catches up to the wolf , he won ' t be able to make the kill alone and may well pay the supreme penalty for his rashness . the proper behavior for a dog that cuts a wolf ' s trail is to bark bloody murder , thus bringing the whole pack into the chase and improving the odds . the converse of the silent trailer is the dog that begins barking just for the sheer dizzy joy of being out in the country of a pleasant evening .
we call this kind of dog a babbler ,
says needham .
he shoots off his mouth for nothin ' and drags the whole rest of the pack with him .
a smart wolf will run straight for a hole in a barbed - wire fence in the dead of night ; the hounds will come caterwauling up , slam into the barbed wire , then waste time trying to find the hole . in the meantime , the wolf has come back through the fence via another hole . wolves even have learned to run along the highway , a most unnatural place for so wild an animal . the pavement does not hold scent as well as brush , and auto fumes make it hard for the hounds to pick up what little scent there is . wolves will run through herds of cattle , confusing the issue still more , or take a shortcut through a backyard , mixing scents with the local watchdogs .
in 1973 , congress passed the endangered species act , and the red wolf was one of the first animals listed . the first goal was to protect the wolves in their remaining territory , and the government started trapping coyotes to prevent the red wolves from being genetically swamped . the effort didn’t work . the wolves were surrounded by an ever - encroaching sea of coyotes .
wolf dogs are trained and treated like scholarship athletes at ucla . needham ' s own pack runs from 15 dogs up ; the number is always changing , because hounds are killed by wolves and new dogs are brought in and others die when they get to be about 6 , old age for a working wolf hound . needham has no stomach for training his own dogs ; he has found the necessary techniques too offensive to his own gentle nature .
the way they train dogs to fight wolves ,
he says ,
is they ' ll catch coyotes in traps and they ' ll tie the coyotes ' mouths , which is cruel , and i ' ve never been able to do anything like that in my life . then they ' ll turn the coyote loose and let the young dogs catch him and kill him . when the dogs learn how to do that , they ' ll let one coyote go without his mouth being tied , and then the dogs ' ll learn a little more . they get some of those hounds so highly trained they ' ll tear through a screened wire so they can get at a wolf .
“red wolves , which are big - eared and short - coated , slender , spindly , stilt - legged for coursing through the southern marshes or under tall forests , have always impressed observers as being rather rudimentary and unemphatic for wolves , ” writes edward hoagland in his essay “lament of the red wolf . ” “behaviorally they resemble gray wolves ; ecologically they are more like coyotes . ”
these wolfdogs are sold as pets to individuals who do not have a full understanding of what they are getting themselves into . often , the owners realize very quickly that wolfdogs do not make ideal pets . they have the wary instincts of a wolf , dislike feeling trapped indoors , and may not easily trust humans . as a result , they are often abandoned , through no fault of their own .
seriously , there aren’t words to express the beauty of these animals . she made three whole passes , and seemed to love having her back scratched — her leg even motored a little , like my pups at home . it was definitely possible to see her more wolf - like traits , though . her long , athletic legs , narrow chest , and those yellow - tinted eyes are a dead giveaway .
“it seems like you’re going backward , ” says david rabon , coordinator of the red wolf recovery program for the u . s . fish and wildlife service . “you’re given this new piece of legislation to go out there and save the planet , save these species . and one of the first things you do is go : ‘we’ll extirpate them in the wild . ’” but , he added , it was the right thing to do .
soon the excuse may be gone . civilization , that implacable enemy of hunter and hunted alike , is approaching flatonia ; a freeway is inching across from san antonio to houston , and earl needham reckons that it will pass
right behind my dog pen .
nothing would kill wolf hunting faster than an uncrossable modern turnpike . earl talked to the authorities about this encroachment on his constitutional right to foray all over the country in search of the red wolf ,
and i told them they ' re agonna have to build them a underpass for my dogs to run .
then , with the look of a stubborn old texan digging in for a long range war , needham added :
yes sir , that ' s all they are to it !
with his code of ethics , his faithful hound dogs and his chili pateens all going for him , needham would seem to be the favorite .
also like major league pitchers , wolf hounds are expected to perform as specialists , not as all - round stars . their job is to find , chase and kill wolves , and nothing else but wolves . and if their attention wanders off to other forms of wildlife , they are sent back to the minors . to chase anything but wolves is called
trashing ,
and a dog that
trashes
is subjected to stiff punishment .
a lot of hunters will whup the whey out of a dog that trashes ,
says needham ,
and i ' ve even known ' em to shoot their own dogs in the tail with a light load of no . 7 shot from a . 410 . it ' s like a sharp spray , but the noise scares ' em , and pretty soon they learn that they ' re gonna get hurt if they open on anything but a wolf trail .