Its closest relative is the hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus) of temperate North America.[2]
Description
The crown, back and wings of the russet nightingale-thrush are brown, and the face is pale gray. Its throat and belly are also pale gray, with a slightly washed dusky shade. The breast is similarly pale gray and mottled dusky. Juveniles are more strongly mottled on breast and sides than adults.[3]
This species is very similar to the related ruddy-capped nightingale-thrush (Catharus frantzii). They can be differentiated by song or in flight, by the presence of a yellow bar on the secondary feathers below the wing in the russet nightingale-thrush.
Skutch, Alexander F. (1960). "Russet nightingale-thrush"(PDF). Life Histories of Central American Birds II. Pacific Coast Avifauna, Number 34. Berkeley, California: Cooper Ornithological Society. pp. 101–110.
