A Wandering Thrush
(click on photo to enlarge)
Who knows why a bird wanders away from its normal range? In this case, it was a beautiful member of the Thrush Family — a Rufous-backed Robin (Turdus rufopalliatus) which ended up wintering in a Tucson area park when it should have been in Mexico. My new philosophy in chasing rare birds is to seek out only life birds applied in this case, so off I went to Catalina State Park located along the cliffs of the Santa Catalina mountains in Oro Valley.
Reputedly more secretive than the American Robin, this bird had lived up to that reputation a few days earlier when I spent over three fruitless hours waiting for it to appear. On my next visit I was able to arrive earlier and confirm reports that the robin was most easily seen in the mornings — I had to wait only a few minutes before the robin flew into a berry-laden Desert Hackberry tree very near to the Trail Head parking lot. Added bonuses from the two trips to this beautiful park was another life bird, the Rufous-winged Sparrow and killer looks at a flock of Lawrence’s Goldfinches which were added to my life list at the St. David Monastery in Cochise County just a few weeks earlier.
Rufous-backed Robin (Turdus rufopalliatus)
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