Campina Thrush

Turdus arthuri

A drab thrush, uncommon in open habitats and woodlands in the lowlands. Nondescript grayish-brown with a pale whitish belly. Sexes similar. Usually seen singly or in pairs. Song is a typical thrushlike series of musical phrases. Similar to Pantepui Thrush but separated by grayer body, stronger throat pattern, and different habitat.

Identification

The Campina thrush has a total length of 202mm and a weight of 64g. It is a medium-sized dusky brown thrush, with a white throat with brown streaks. It has a white vent and undertail and a pale belly. It looks similar to its relative the Pantepui thrush, but is smaller with a slight olive wash on its wings and a generally more ashy appearance.

Taxonomy

The Campina thrush was originally described by Charles Chubb as Arthur's thrush in 1914 from a specimen taken near the Abary River in British Guiana (modern day Guyana), and placed in the genus Planesticus. It was considered a subspecies of black-billed thrush until 2019 when a proposal to split it and the Pantepui thrush was unanimously approved by the South American Classification Committee.

Scientific name
Turdus arthuri
Authority
(Chubb, C, 1914)
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Turdidae
Genus
Turdus

Range and habitat

The species is the most common Turdus thrush of disturbed habitats in west central Amazonia and on the Guianan Shield, occurring in Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. It inhabits a variety of habitats including clearings, savannas with gallery woodland, cerrado, humid forest borders, coffee plantations, and various other habitats under anthropogenic influence.

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
stable

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Peruvian Slaty Brushfinch

Peruvian Slaty Brushfinch

Atlapetes taczanowskii

Mostly gray brushfinch found in Central Peru. Bold head pattern with rufous crown, white throat, and black mustache stripe. Note plain gray wings. No similar species in range. A high elevation species, occurring in scrubby habitats from around 2,500-3,400m. Pairs usually forage at lower levels, sometimes accompanying a mixed-species flock. Relatively simple song usually heard only at dawn. More often heard is the complex descending chatter given as two birds approach each other.

Red-billed Pigeon

Red-billed Pigeon

Patagioenas flavirostris

Large dark pigeon. Body and wings mostly bluish-gray with maroon-colored neck and shoulders. Note red bill with pale yellowish tip. Immature paler grayish without maroon tones. Common from Mexico to Costa Rica, mainly in lowlands and foothills. Barely enters the U.S. in Rio Grande Valley of south Texas. Typically seen in pairs or small flocks, often perched conspicuously in a variety of habitats, including open forests, patchy farmland, and mangroves. Tends to be fairly shy. Separated from other pigeons in Middle America by large size, bill pattern, and dark tail and undertail coverts. Listen for low cooing song: “whoo, whoop-a-whoo.”

Cardinal Woodpecker

Cardinal Woodpecker

Dendropicos fuscescens

A small, compact woodpecker with heavily streaked underparts and a solid black moustachial streak. In the female the top of the head is completely dark, while in the male the forecrown is brown and hindcrown and nape are red. Pairs inhabit a wide range of savanna, woodland, forest-edge, and riverine forest, where they feed in dead branches and smaller twigs ignored by larger woodpeckers. An angry-sounding, dry, trilled rattle call often gives it away.

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