Rufous-bellied Thrush Gallery

Turdus rufiventris

The Birds of the World website provides this introductory information about the Rufous-bellied Thrush:  The Rufous-bellied Thrush is a resident of open forest, pampas and agricultural land from Bolivia east to northeastern Brazil, and south to Paraguay and to northern Argentina. A highly adaptable thrush, these birds can even be found on lawns and gardens in urban areas. Both sexes have olive-brown upperparts, a buff-brown breast, orange underparts and an orange-yellow eyering. Rufous-bellied Thrushes mainly eat fruit and insects. In southern Brazil, Rufous-bellied Thrushes have been reported to eat 28 different kinds of fruit, including the berries of Syagrus romanzoffiana, Rapanea laetevirens and Miconia cinerascens. Rufous-bellied Thrushes are common throughout their range, despite the fact that they often experience reduced productivity due to brood parasitism by Shiny Cowbirds (Molothrus bonariensis).

I saw and photographed my first Rufous-bellied Thrush on the morning of August 21, 2023 at Parque Mãe Bonifácia in Cuiabá, Brazil. I had a free day from tour activities, so I went to the park by myself and spent the morning walking the trails and looking for birds. When I first spotted this bird it was in a dense palm, but fortunately it flew to a branch where I was able to get a somewhat decent photo.  For a more detailed description of the trip that included my sighting of this bird look at this blog post.  Here is the only passable photo I managed to get of the Rufous-bellied Thrush.