Wood Thrush
Wood Thrush has fallen sharply: down 61% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the Wood Thrush
Prized for its flute-like, ethereal song, the Wood Thrush breeds in eastern deciduous forests but has declined steeply, making it a flagship for forest-bird conservation.
- Size
- 7–8.5 in long, about 1.7 oz (18–22 cm, 47 g)
- Habitat
- Woodlands and forest edges, including wooded suburbs and parks.
- Diet
- Insects and other invertebrates from the forest floor, plus fruit.
- Range
- Recorded on 2,175 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 36 states, most concentrated in the Appalachian Mountains.
- Family
- Turdidae · Forest birds
- Conservation
- Declining
Notable Wood Thrush Trends
Wood Thrush has fallen sharply in surveyed states: down 61% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
Wood Thrush Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Wood Thrush is projected to fall about 56% by 2029 — from 2.9 in 2024 to a central estimate of 1.3 (95% range 0.00–2.7). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±52.5%, with 20% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.6 | 0.21 | 3.1 |
| 2026 | 1.5 | 0.12 | 3.0 |
| 2027 | 1.4 | 0.03 | 2.9 |
| 2028 | 1.4 | 0.00 | 2.8 |
| 2029 | 1.3 | 0.00 | 2.7 |
Where the Wood Thrush Is Detected
BBS routes recording Wood Thrush, sized by most recent count.
Wood Thrush Population Trend by State
| Alabama | -43% | 1968 | 105 |
| Arkansas | -47% | 1969 | 54 |
| Connecticut | -52% | 1968 | 20 |
| Delaware | -12% | 1968 | 17 |
| Florida | -63% | 1968 | 39 |
| Georgia | -67% | 1968 | 106 |
| Illinois | +183% | 1968 | 100 |
| Indiana | +60% | 1968 | 68 |
| Iowa | +468% | 1973 | 23 |
| Kansas | +39% | 1970 | 21 |
| Kentucky | -1% | 1968 | 64 |
| Louisiana | +17% | 1969 | 73 |
| Maine | -86% | 1968 | 74 |
| Maryland | -49% | 1968 | 76 |
| Massachusetts | -66% | 1968 | 30 |
| Michigan | -7% | 1968 | 102 |
| Minnesota | +520% | 1969 | 67 |
| Mississippi | +56% | 1968 | 73 |
| Missouri | +107% | 1969 | 83 |
| Nebraska | +6% | 1982 | 8 |
| New Hampshire | -88% | 1968 | 26 |
| New Jersey | -5% | 1968 | 42 |
| New York | -66% | 1968 | 129 |
| North Carolina | -68% | 1968 | 112 |
| Ohio | +303% | 1968 | 89 |
| Oklahoma | -57% | 1971 | 21 |
| Pennsylvania | -25% | 1968 | 136 |
| Rhode Island | -43% | 1968 | 6 |
| South Carolina | -82% | 1968 | 47 |
| South Dakota | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| Tennessee | +0% | 1968 | 55 |
| Texas | -20% | 1969 | 34 |
| Vermont | -85% | 1968 | 26 |
| Virginia | -56% | 1968 | 88 |
| West Virginia | -21% | 1968 | 63 |
| Wisconsin | +75% | 1968 | 96 |
Wood Thrush Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Prairie Potholes | -56% | 1979 | 16 |
| Boreal Hardwood Transition | +37% | 1968 | 116 |
| Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain | -55% | 1968 | 86 |
| Atlantic Northern Forest | -87% | 1968 | 152 |
| Central Mixed Grass Prairie | +120% | 1972 | 11 |
| Oaks and Prairies | -80% | 1969 | 10 |
| Eastern Tallgrass Prairie | +160% | 1968 | 236 |
| Prairie Hardwood Transition | +61% | 1968 | 159 |
| Central Hardwoods | +36% | 1968 | 159 |
| West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas | -25% | 1969 | 104 |
| Mississippi Alluvial Valley | -43% | 1968 | 58 |
| Southeastern Coastal Plain | -50% | 1968 | 324 |
| Appalachian Mountains | -19% | 1968 | 405 |
| Piedmont | -54% | 1968 | 169 |
| New England / Mid-Atlantic Coast | -65% | 1968 | 160 |
| Gulf Coastal Prairie | -73% | 1976 | 5 |
Wood Thrush Conservation Status
Declining
Long-term surveys document a steep, sustained decline for this species, a recognized conservation concern. Our route-weighted index shows it down about 61% since 1968.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.