Species in Focus: Townsend's Solitaire
The Townsend’s Solitaire can be a very, very long winded bird. It may have the longest continuous song I’ve ever recorded.
To me this bird has always looked like someone had taken a Northern Mockingbird and made it thrush-shaped. It is a mostly-grey thrush with dark wings that can have a small flare of tan colour to them.
Its song can sound very finch-like, with a mix of warbles and abrupt changes in pitch.
At times, this bird will also sing while flying over its territory.
For this species in focus episode, I’ll be sharing recordings from the Fullerton Trail in 2025, and Gorge Creek Trail in 2026, as well as a brief we’ve heard already from Jumpingpound Demonstration forest in 2025.
Credits
Songbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production.
Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.
The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062
Creative Commons music is from Bluedot Sessions.
Creators and Guests
Host
Rob Porter
Rob is a software engineer and naturalist in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is the winner of the 2025 Betty Blashill Environmental Prize, and started the Songbirding podcast in 2019.
