Since 2004 · Licensed by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT)

Clay-colored Thrush in Costa Rica

Family Turdidae

Clay-colored Thrush

Turdus grayi

In Spanish: Mirlo Pardo (Yigüirro)

  • Resident

Yards and gardens across the country, all year. Costa Rica's national bird, the yigüirro.

Where to see itTrips that find it

Ask a Costa Rican for the national bird and the answer is a plain brown thrush. In 1977 Costa Ricans chose the yigüirro as a national symbol, ahead of every macaw and toucan in the country.

The reason is the song. It opens the rainy season, and local people say the bird calls the rains.

Where to see it

Map of the places to see the Clay-colored Thrush and the lodges near them
  • Hotspot page
  • Named place
  • Nearby lodge (numbers match the cards)

Nearby lodges

Within 20 km of a place on the map, in the same zone.

  • 1
    Selva Verde Lodge6.8 km from Tirimbina Biological Reserve, SarapiquíSee the lodge
  • 2
    La Selva Biological Station5.8 km from Selva Verde, on the Sarapiquí RiverSee the lodge
  • 3
    Las Cruces Biological Station0.8 km from Wilson Botanical Garden (off the map)See the lodge
See all lodges in this zone →

How to recognise it

About 23 to 27 cm, a little shorter than a sheet of letter paper. Brown all over, a shade lighter below than above and lightest on the flanks, the sides below the wings, with a faintly streaked throat. Male and female are not described as different. On a bird this plain, the details settle it: a greenish-yellow bill with a dark base, pinkish legs and reddish eyes. The song is low and slow, many slurred musical phrases, often repeated at uneven moments. It will also follow columns of army ants and pick off the small prey they flush out.

Where it lives

Across much of its range it is a familiar bird of yards and gardens, so the garden of your hotel is a fair place to start. It is the bird of the places people live more than of deep forest.

When to see it

All year, as a resident. Listen for the song when the rains begin.

Trips that find it

Tell us when you are travelling and our team in Costa Rica builds the trip around the birds you want to see.

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How we know this 1 sources, each read on the date shown
  1. Wikipedia: Clay-colored thrush read 4 November 2026https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay-colored_thrush