Sue Ericksen in Zillah wrote:

" A new bird showed up in our yard October 10, 11...then I went out
of town for two weeks. Latest sighting was the 29th of Oct.

" He's dark brown on back and heavily streaked on the underside
and he's "Towhee" size. He is feeding on the ground and is showing
aggressive behavior in chasing off the juncos and white crowned
sparrows. The closest ID in our Peterson guide is the Wood Thrush
that is listed as an accidental in the western states."

Sue,

>From your description and the bird's behavior, I might suggest that
you compare what you saw with the several races of Fox Sparrows.
The darker brown, "sooty" fox sparrows in my yard (P.i. fuliginosa,
etc.) fit your description, and I wouldn't think that a thrush would be
interested enough in the seeds at a feeder to be agressive toward the
crowned sparrows and juncos.

In the old 'bible' (Bent's Life Histories..), it is noted for Wood Thrush:
"Food - Thrushes are insectivorous but are fond of fruit. The U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service supplied the following data on the food of this
species, based on 179 stomachs examined. .... In the 179 examinations,
62.25 percent of the material consisted of animal matter and 37.75
percent vegetable matter. Of the latter, 3.49 percent was cultivated fruit
and 31.2 percent wild fruit. ..."

I have never had any thrush among the seed-eating birds at my feeders,
but have had both Varied and Hermit Thrushes feed on apple halves at
the winter feeders. Robins have always been disinterested....

Hope this helps.

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net