Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Wood Thrush
Scientific name:	Hylocichla mustelina
Date:	16 May 2023
Time:	8:10 - 8:15 pm
Length of time observed:	ca. 5 min beginning to end, but only ~40 seconds of actually seeing it.
Number:	1
Age:	adult
Sex:	?
Location:	Sugarhouse neighborhood between 1000 east & Lincoln St, 2200 - 2185 South, Salt Lake City, UT
County:	Salt Lake
Latilong:	40.723068, -111.863377
Elevation:	4340 ft
Distance to bird:	<15 feet flyby, 40 feet perched
Optical equipment:	Leica 10x42 trinovid binocs
Weather:	Sunny
Light Conditions:	Evening light (gentle, no direct shadow-casting illumination), 90 degrees to where sun was setting behind tall trees
Description: Size of bird:	Smaller than an American robin, larger than a Catharus thrush
(Description:) Basic Shape:	Short-tailed thrush
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	Bright rusty above, white with thick black spotting below
(Description:) Bill Type:	thrush-like
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	I'll just paste a curated version of what I put into eBird (CHECKLIST S138081322): At around 8:10 pm, It flew in and landed in Nolan's Siberian elm, where I got my binoculars on it and saw it briefly but well: -- bright rust from top of head to the back and onto the tail -- underside was white with very distinct circular black spots spaced thickly all over the breast as far down as I could see (I could not see the belly) -- face speckled gray [i.e. speckled finely black & white creating a pointillistic gray] with distinct white eyering and a white brow [in retrospect the "brow" was likely the merging of the white lores with the upper portion of the eyering] -- tail short for a thrush, especially noticeable in flight -- thrush bill looked like a robin's bill (not decurved like a thrasher) -- looked smaller than an American robin but bigger than a Catharus thrush (though neither were around for direct comparison) - I ran off to fetch Mark Stackhouse. He arrived and played a recording and the bird answered with three burst of an ethereal but clipped version of what Mark called its song (each time just as Mark played the burble call on Merlin). After a bit, it flew off quickly and low, never to be seen again. Last seen at 2187 South Lincoln Street, heading north.
Song or call & method of delivery:	RPB (see above) --stupidly, although I had a recording device in my hand, I was too entranced in the moment to deploy it
Behavior:	Flew very low, about ten feet off ground into a thick portion of a Siberian elm. There it perched for over a minute, allowing me to observe it for about 30-40 seconds. It responded to Mark's Merlin recording of what Mark called the "staccato call" three times, almost instantaneously upon the playing of that call, almost like a duet. After a few minutes, it flew off to the NNW at great speed (i.e. direct fight), again about ten feet off the ground. Never saw it again.
Habitat:	Suburban back yards with various trees, garden plots, garden sheds, and lawns. My own back yard is a feral, unmowed place.
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	Brown thrasher eliminated by long tail, dark eye, and shorter bill. Veery eliminated by very distinct, large, black dots on breast; black and white speckling on face around which the rust color wrapped contrastingly; intensity of eyering and white lores; proclivity toward the Wood thrush calls
Previous experience with this & similar species:	According to eBird, I've seen this bird 19 times prior to this one.
References consulted:	Eventually, looked at National Geographic field guide.
Description from:	From memory
Observer:	David Wheeler
Observer's address:	2196 S 1000 E,
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	Our very own senior voting member, Mark Stackhouse.
Date prepared:	17 May 2023
Additional material:
Additional comments:	Truly made my day.