The blacksmith thrush or eastern slaty thrush is a passerine bird belonging to the genus Turdus in the thrush family, Turdidae. It is native to eastern South America. It was formerly considered conspecific with the Andean slaty thrush, with the combined species known as slaty thrush.
Region
Eastern South America
Typical Environment
Occurs from southeastern Brazil into Paraguay, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina, chiefly within the Atlantic Forest and adjacent woodlands. It uses humid evergreen and Araucaria forests, secondary growth, forest edges, and riparian corridors. During the austral winter some birds disperse or move northward to milder, fruit-rich areas. It adapts to semi-urban parks with mature trees where understory cover persists.
Altitude Range
0–2000 m
Climate Zone
Subtropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Also called the eastern slaty thrush, it was once lumped with the Andean slaty thrush under the name slaty thrush. Its call has a sharp, metallic quality often likened to a blacksmith’s hammer, which inspired the common name. In flight it shows a distinctive pale underwing patch. It undertakes short to medium-distance austral migrations within eastern South America.
Temperament
shy and somewhat skulking
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats between low perches
Social Behavior
Typically solitary or in pairs, becoming more tolerant around fruiting trees. Builds a cup-shaped nest of twigs and fibers placed low to mid-level in dense vegetation. Clutches usually contain 2–3 eggs, and both parents feed the nestlings.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Song features clear, metallic notes and short phrases often repeated, reminiscent of a hammer striking metal. Calls include sharp, ringing ‘tink’ notes given from shaded perches, especially at dawn.
Plumage
Male is uniform slaty-gray with a slightly paler throat; female is warm brown above with paler, buff-washed underparts and faint throat mottling. Both sexes show pale underwing coverts that flash as a whitish patch in flight. Feathers are smooth with minimal patterning beyond subtle throat streaks in females.
Diet
Eats a mix of small fruits and invertebrates such as beetles, caterpillars, spiders, and earthworms. Forages by hopping along the forest floor, flipping leaf litter, and by gleaning berries in the understory and midstory. Will exploit seasonally abundant fruiting trees and may join mixed-species flocks at fruit sources.
Preferred Environment
Feeds along forest edges, clearings with dense shrubs, and within mature forest understory. Also uses riparian thickets and occasionally large gardens or parks with native vegetation.
