True thrush

True thrushes
Mistle thrush (T. viscivorus), the type species of the genus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
Genus: Turdus
Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Turdus viscivorus
Species

See text

The "true" thrushes are medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus Turdus, in the wider thrush family, Turdidae. The genus name Turdus is Latin for 'thrush'. The term thrush is also used for many other birds in the family Turdidae, as well as for a number of species belonging to several other families.

Some Old World species with fully or largely black plumage are called blackbirds, and one, the ring ouzel, still retains the Old English name ouzel, which, until the 17th century, was also used (as "black ouzel") for the Common blackbird; it is cognate with the German name Amsel for the same species.[1] Some New World species are called robins, the best known of which is the American robin. Two other species have their own distinct names without "thrush", fieldfare and redwing, from behavioural, and plumage features, respectively.

The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, with species in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.[2] Several species have colonised oceanic islands, and two European species have been introduced by man into Australia and New Zealand.

All the species are uniform in size and structure, with the great majority between 22–28 cm long; the smallest (Vanikoro island thrush) being 17–19 cm, and the largest (great thrush) being 28–33 cm. All have slender, medium-length bills. Plumage is far more variable; the only fully shared character is that the recently fledged juveniles are spotted on the breast and streaked on the back. Adult colours range from the "classical" thrush pattern of a plain brown back and a spotted breast (e.g. mistle thrush, song thrush), through all-brown (e.g. clay-colored thrush, black-billed thrush) or all-black (e.g. common blackbird, glossy-black thrush), pied (e.g. ring ouzel, white-collared blackbird), to orange- to red-breasted, either subtly (e.g. rufous-bellied thrush, grey-backed thrush) or boldly (e.g. American robin, red-throated thrush). Some show sexual dimorphism with the males brighter or more intensely coloured than the often browner females, while in others, the sexes are identical in plumage. All are omnivorous, with a mixed diet of invertebrates, fruit, and small seeds. The temperate northern hemisphere species are migratory to a greater or lesser extent to avoid the harsh freezing winters of northern Eurasia and North America, while the subtropical, tropical, and southern hemisphere species are generally nonmigratory. Many, or most, are noted for their melodious songs. Almost all occur in habitats with trees and shrubs, but many will also use open ground away from trees; some are highly adapted to rocky mountainous habitats, using steep slopes and rocks adeptly in predator avoidance. Many have adapted well to human presence and are common in urban and suburban gardens, while some are shy and avoid human presence, particularly where there is any history of bird hunting.[2]

While some species have been split out of Turdus, the two small thrushes formerly separated in Platycichla by many authors have been restored to the present genus in recent years.

Taxonomy and systematics

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The genus Turdus was formally named by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.[3] The type species was subsequently designated as the mistle thrush.[4] The name Turdus is the Latin word for a "thrush".[5]

Current species

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The genus contains 104 extant species of which two are recently extinct:[6]

Image Common Name Scientific name Distribution
Groundscraper thrush Turdus litsitsirupa Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
Ethiopian thrush Turdus simensis Ethiopia, Eritrea
Chinese thrush Turdus mupinensis China and far northern Vietnam
Song thrush Turdus philomelos Europe, North Africa and the Middle East
Mistle thrush Turdus viscivorus Europe and temperate Asia
African thrush Turdus pelios from Senegal and Gambia in the west to South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea south to north-western Zambia and western Angola
Príncipe thrush Turdus xanthorhynchus Príncipe
São Tomé thrush Turdus olivaceofuscus São Tomé
Abyssinian thrush Turdus abyssinicus Africa from South Sudan south to northern Mozambique
Taita thrush Turdus helleri Taita Hills in Kenya
A small brown bird with a white underbelly standing on some dirt or mulch Usambara thrush Turdus roehli Tanzania
Olive thrush Turdus olivaceus Tanzania and Zimbabwe in the north to the Cape of Good Hope
Kurrichane thrush Turdus libonyana Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
Comoro thrush Turdus bewsheri Comoros Islands
Bare-eyed thrush Turdus tephronotus Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania
Karoo thrush Turdus smithi South Africa, where it is present in Little Namaqualand, the Karoo and Northern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and parts of the North West Province
Somali thrush or Somali blackbird Turdus ludoviciae Somalia
Chinese blackbird Turdus mandarinus south, central and east China
Redwing Turdus iliacus Europe and Asia, from Iceland south to northernmost Scotland, and east through Scandinavia, the Baltic States, northern Poland and Belarus, and through most of Russia to about 165°E in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Common blackbird Turdus merula temperate Eurasia, North Africa, the Canary Islands, and South Asia
Yemen thrush Turdus menachensis Middle East
Taiwan thrush[7] Turdus niveiceps Taiwan
Grey-winged blackbird Turdus boulboul south-eastern Asia from the Himalayas to northern Vietnam
Indian blackbird Turdus simillimus India and Sri Lanka
Tickell's thrush Turdus unicolor Himalayas, and peninsular India
Black-breasted thrush Turdus dissimilis south-western China
Japanese thrush Turdus cardis central China and Japan and northern Laos and Vietnam
Grey-backed thrush Turdus hortulorum north-eastern China and Russia Far East and winters in southern China and northern Vietnam
Eyebrowed thrush Turdus obscurus Siberia south to China and Southeast Asia
Pale thrush Turdus pallidus south-east Siberia, north-east China and Korea and may breed in Japan
Grey-sided thrush Turdus feae north-east China and migrating to subtropical or tropical moist montane forest in India, and Indochina
Brown-headed thrush Turdus chrysolaus Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, Japan, Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, Hainan and the northern Philippines
Izu thrush Turdus celaenops Izu and Ryukyu Islands of Japan
Mindoro island thrush Turdus mindorensis (split from T. poliocephalus) montane Mindoro (northwest Philippines)
Luzon island thrush Turdus thomassoni (split from T. poliocephalus) montane Luzon (north Philippines)
Mindanao island thrush Turdus nigrorum (split from T. poliocephalus) montane Negros and Mindanao (Philippines)
Wallacean island thrush Turdus schlegelii (split from T. poliocephalus) montane Sulawesi and Timor
Christmas Island thrush Turdus erythropleurus (split from T. poliocephalus) Christmas Island
Sundaic island thrush Turdus javanicus (split from T. poliocephalus) montane Sumatra, Java and Borneo
Moluccan island thrush Turdus deningeri (split from T. poliocephalus) montane Taliabu and Seram
Papuan island thrush Turdus papuensis (split from T. poliocephalus) montane New Guinea and Goodenough Island (D'Entrecasteaux Islands)
Bismarck island thrush Turdus heinrothi (split from T. poliocephalus) Bismarck Archipelago
Bougainville island thrush Turdus bougainvillei (split from T. poliocephalus) montane Bougainville Island (north Solomon Islands)
Solomons island thrush Turdus kulambangrae (split from T. poliocephalus) montane Kolombangara and Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands)
Vanikoro island thrush Turdus vanikorensis (split from T. poliocephalus) Vanuatu and Utupua
White-headed island thrush Turdus pritzbueri (split from T. poliocephalus) south Vanuatu
New Caledonian island thrush Turdus xanthopus (split from T. poliocephalus) New Caledonia and satellites
† Tasman Sea island thrush Turdus poliocephalus Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island (east of Australia) (extinct)
Samoan island thrush Turdus samoensis (split from T. poliocephalus) Savaiʻi and Upolu in Samoa
Fiji island thrush Turdus ruficeps (split from T. poliocephalus) Fiji
Tibetan blackbird Turdus maximus Himalayas from northern Pakistan to south-eastern Tibet
White-backed thrush Turdus kessleri central China
Fieldfare Turdus pilaris Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Eastern France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Siberia as far east as Transbaikal, the Aldan River, the Tian Shan Mountains in North West China, Anatolia, Israel, Iran and Northwest India, and occasionally north-east India. It is a vagrant to Iceland, Greenland, Spitsbergen, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Madeira, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta and Cyprus. It is a very rare breeder in the British Isles, but winters in large numbers in the United Kingdom, Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
Ring ouzel Turdus torquatus western and central Europe and also in the Caucasus and in the Scandinavian mountains
Black-throated thrush Turdus atrogularis east of Europe to Western Siberia and north-west Mongolia
Red-throated thrush Turdus ruficollis Asia
Dusky thrush Turdus eunomus south to south-east Asia, principally in China and neighbouring countries
Naumann's thrush Turdus naumanni South Asia to Southeast Asia
Chestnut thrush Turdus rubrocanus western Himalayas and central to south-western China; it winters in Eastern Himalaya and northern Southeast Asia
White-collared blackbird Turdus albocinctus Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan
Sulawesi thrush Turdus turdoides Sulawesi Island in Indonesia
American robin Turdus migratorius North America, from Alaska and Canada southward to northern Florida and Mexico
Black thrush Turdus infuscatus El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico
Rufous-collared thrush Turdus rufitorques Central America, south of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, occurring in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Chiapas state in Mexico
Sooty thrush Turdus nigrescens Costa Rica and western Panama
Red-legged thrush Turdus plumbeus The Bahamas, Cayman Brac, Cuba, Dominica, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), Puerto Rico
Grand Cayman thrush †Turdus ravidus Grand Cayman (extinct since 1938)
White-chinned thrush Turdus aurantius Jamaica
Forest thrush Turdus lherminieri Dominica, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, and Saint Lucia
Mountain thrush Turdus plebejus southern Mexico to western Panama
Pale-eyed thrush Turdus leucops Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela
White-eyed thrush Turdus jamaicensis Jamaica
La Selle thrush Turdus swalesi Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti)
Chestnut-bellied thrush Turdus fulviventris western Venezuela, western Colombia, Ecuador, northern Peru and north-western Bolivia
Plumbeous-backed thrush Turdus reevei Ecuador and Peru
Chiguanco thrush Turdus chiguanco Ecuador and the Altiplano
Andean slaty thrush Turdus nigriceps north-west Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru
Glossy-black thrush Turdus serranus northern Venezuela to north-western Argentina
Black-hooded thrush Turdus olivater Venezuela and Colombia
Great thrush Turdus fuscater Andes in western and northern Venezuela as far as Lara and Trujillo, the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and finally, northwest Bolivia
Austral thrush Turdus falcklandii south Argentina and south and central Chile
Lawrence's thrush Turdus lawrencii Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela
Pantepui thrush Turdus murinus foothills of south Venezuela and Guyana
Blacksmith thrush Turdus subalaris north-east Argentina, eastern Paraguay and southern Brazil
Creamy-bellied thrush Turdus amaurochalinus central and eastern South America
Tristan thrush Turdus eremita British overseas territories of the isolated Tristan da Cunha archipelago
Marañón thrush Turdus maranonicus southern Ecuador and northern Peru
Black-billed thrush Turdus ignobilis western Amazonia and on the Guianan Shield, occurring in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, and Bolivia
Campina thrush Turdus arthuri lowlands of south-eastern Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname, east Colombia and west-central Amazonian Brazil
Yellow-legged thrush Turdus flavipes northern Colombia, Venezuela, far northern Brazil, Trinidad, and Tobago, as well as parts of the Pakaraima Mountains in western Guyana, eastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, and far northeastern Argentina
White-throated thrush Turdus assimilis Central America
Dagua thrush Turdus daguae Panama to north-western Ecuador
White-necked thrush Turdus albicollis eastern Brazil, far northern Uruguay, eastern Paraguay and far north-eastern Argentina
Rufous-backed thrush Turdus rufopalliatus south-eastern Sonora to the south-eastern corner of Oaxaca along the coast and in the Río Balsas drainage, with isolated populations in Mexico City and Oaxaca City
A small brown bird with a greenish-looking underside on some branches. Pale-vented thrush Turdus obsoletus Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru
Pale-breasted thrush Turdus leucomelas eastern and northern South America
Cocoa thrush Turdus fumigatus South America
Hauxwell's thrush Turdus hauxwelli Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela
Rufous-bellied thrush Turdus rufiventris southeast Brazil from Maranhão south to Rio Grande do Sul states, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern regions of Argentina
Clay-colored thrush Turdus grayi South Texas (where it is rapidly expanding its range) to northern Colombia
Spectacled thrush Turdus nudigenis South America from Colombia and Venezuela south and east to northern Brazil, and in Trinidad and Tobago
Ecuadorian thrush Turdus maculirostris western Ecuador and far north-western Peru
A brown bird with a white underbelly and a yellow beak stands on a thick branch. Várzea thrush Turdus sanchezorum western Amazon
Unicolored thrush Turdus haplochrous Bolivia

References

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  1. ^ Lockwood, William Burley (1984). The Oxford Book of British Bird Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 112. ISBN 0-19-214155-4.
  2. ^ a b Clement, Peter; Hathway, Ren (2000-11-30). Thrushes. London: A & C Black. ISBN 0-7136-3940-7.
  3. ^ Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii. p. 168.
  4. ^ Mayr, Ernst; Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, eds. (1964). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 10. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 177.
  5. ^ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 293. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  6. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2024). "Thrushes". IOC World Bird List Version 14.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Species Updates – IOC World Bird List". Retrieved 2021-05-27.

Further reading

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