Alpine Thrush
Zoothera mollissima
Chocolate-brown thrush with finely scaled white underparts. Very similar to Himalayan and Sichuan Thrushes, with which it was once considered a single species. Alpine is shorter-billed than the other two species, with a darker brown forehead than Sichuan Thrush; averages longer-legged and longer-winged than Himalayan Thrush. Long-tailed Thrush can also be similar, but lacks Alpine’s intense throat and chest speckling, and has thin but prominent pale wingbars. Alpine Thrush breeds in open rocky alpine areas with scattered shrubbery between 3000 and 4500 meters of elevation, though it descends lower into the foothills during winter. Song is simple but not altogether unmusical, consisting of fluid warbling notes and squeaky grating ones.
Identification
The alpine thrush (Zoothera mollissima) is a species of bird in the thrush family.
Taxonomy
The alpine thrush was formerly known as the plain-backed thrush, until the latter was split into the Alpine thrush, Sichuan thrush and the newly discovered Himalayan thrush.
- Scientific name
- Zoothera mollissima
- Authority
- (Blyth, 1842)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Turdidae
- Genus
- Zoothera
Range and habitat
It is found from the north-western Himalayas to southern China. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland and subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland.
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Behavior
Migration pattern: Vertical migration.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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