Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush

How to find it

Because it is shy, listening for its fluty song is often the best way to locate it. Then search the undergrowth and forest floor of cloud forest, and be patient, since it slips away quietly if pressed. A search along trail edges in the Caribbean foothills typically turns up this thrush. An army ant swarm in the forest is worth stopping for, because attending birds can give good views. Where birds are used to people, as at a restaurant with dropped food scraps, they can be easier to see than in the forest. If you only hear them at first, keep going: one group in 2024 finally got views at Santa Elena Reserve.

How to recognise it

This is an overall dark slaty gray thrush, and a few bright accents make it easy to name once you get a look.

Look for:

- a bright orange bill

- a bright orange eye ring

- bright orange legs

- a pale, white iris

It is about 17 to 18 cm (6.7 to 7.1 in) long. The pale iris sets it apart from other nightingale-thrushes, so check the eye when you get a glimpse. A guide once called it one of his favorite Costa Rican birds: the all-dark body with orange eye ring, bill and legs is striking when it steps onto a trail.

What it sounds like

Recording: Noland Martin, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

This is a very shy bird that stays low in dark forest undergrowth and slips away quietly when approached. It is omnivorous. In Costa Rica it has been seen following army ant swarms, and on a tour in the north birders had several good sightings of birds attending a swarm in the forest.

Birders often get only a brief look, such as a single bird that stepped out onto a trail near Monteverde. Where birds are used to people, they may come to the ground for dropped scraps.

Where it lives

It lives in dense thickets and understory of moist mountain forest. One source gives its habitat across its range as humid montane evergreen forest in the subtropical zone, roughly 800 to 2,300 m (2,600 to 7,500 ft).

In Costa Rica it occupies the central mountain ranges on both slopes. A field note calls it common at middle elevations on the Caribbean slope, and it also occurs high on the Pacific slope of the Tilarán range. It has been photographed in the Monteverde cloud forest, Puntarenas.

When to see it

It is a year-round resident, most vocal in the breeding season. Early morning and late afternoon are the best times to see it.

Similar birds

The pale iris sets it apart from other nightingale-thrushes. The sooty thrush looks similar but is much larger and lacks the whitish belly, and the two do not share a range.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The official Spanish name is Zorzal Sombrío. Costa Ricans also use Arremedón, Arremendado and Jilguerillo, the last meaning little songbird because the song is mistaken for that of the jilguero.

Status and conservation

It is a resident (R) on the AOCR list, and the IUCN rates it Least Concern.

Photography tips

Expect a brief look: birds often step out onto a trail only for a moment. Where they are used to people, as at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens restaurant, they may come to the ground for scraps, which makes them easier to see and photograph than in the forest. Early morning and late afternoon are the best times to try.