The brown-backed solitaire (Myadestes occidentalis) is considered a thrush and is placed in the family Turdidae.

One singing bird was found in Miller Canyon, in the Huachuca Mountains of southeastern Arizona, and documented by the youth birding Victor Emanuel Nature Tours' Camp Chiricahua in July 2009.

The bird was located, identified, and documented by Benjamin Van Doren, Philippa Tanford, James Warren, Fer Farias, Ted Stiritz, Erich Lehner, Benjamin Vizzachero, Ethan Gyllenhaal, Megan O'Brien, Brian Magnier, Vincent Pellegrino, and leaders Robert Day, Dave Jasper, and Rebekah McIntyre.

[citation needed] A heard-only bird in Morse Canyon, Chiricahuas, Arizona, was documented by John Yerger in May 2011, and is pending acceptance.

The brown-backed solitaire's song is a crescendo of accelerating, descending notes, often described as flute- or bell-like.