White-backed Thrush
Turdus kessleri
Large, boldly-marked thrush of high-altitude open meadows, steppelands, and gardens in central China. Male is dashingly colored with an ivory-white back and breast, a brick-orange belly, and jet-black wings and head. Female is dirt-brown overall with darker wings and a hint of the male’s pale back and breast. Similar to Chestnut Thrush, but Chestnut Thrush prefers more forested habitats and lacks pale patches on the body.
Identification
The white-backed thrush or Kessler's thrush (Turdus kessleri) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is primarily resident or a short-distance altitudinal migrant, found in central China in Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, eastern Tibet, and northwestern Yunnan, and also a scarce winter visitor in Bhutan, northeasternmost India (Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim), and eastern Nepal. It breeds in alpine scrub on rocky sites at altitudes of 3600–4500 metres, and descends down to 2100 metres, rarely to 1500 metres, in winter. It is a large thrush, 28 cm long (same size as a mistle thrush). The male has a black head, wings, and tail, and a pink body, dark pink below and pale pink to nearly white on the mantle (thus superficially resembling a rosy starling in plumage pattern, though larger and longer-tailed than that). The female is similar but drabber, with a dark brown head and the pink tinged greyer. Juveniles are similar to adult females, but with pale streaks on the head. It is gregarious, forming flocks particularly in winter, but also on the breeding grounds, and often joins flocks of dusky thrush and red-throated thrush. It is omnivorous, feeding on insects, earthworms, and berries, with juniper cones ("berries") particularly important in winter.
Taxonomy
Genus: Turdus; Family: Turdidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Turdus kessleri
- Authority
- (Przevalski, 1876)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Turdidae
- Genus
- Turdus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Behavior
Migration pattern: Vertical migration.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Himalayan Rubythroat
Calliope pectoralis
Shy inhabitant of thickets and dense grassy areas from subalpine scrub to above treeline. Male is gunmetal gray with a white brow, bright orange throat, and a black patch extending from the face down to the breast. Very similar to the closely related Chinese Rubythroat, which has a white moustachial stripe. Chinese Rubythroat female averages browner than female Himalayan, but is best identified by range; Chinese breeds in central and south-central China, while Himalayan breeds along the Himalayas, in Xinjiang, and in Central Asia. Female Himalayan has a weaker eyebrow than female Siberian Rubythroat, and is darker overall.
Papuan Harrier
Circus spilothorax
A common patroller above reedbeds, flying with wings raised in a shallow V-shape. Adult males are predominantly pale gray with a dark-speckled head, blackish back with pale-edged feathers, and black wingtips. Adult females are brown and streaky and lack the bold white rump patch of the similar female Hen Harrier. Juveniles are brown with paler heads and breasts. Extremely similar to Eastern Marsh-Harrier, but no range overlap.
Flores Monarch
Symposiachrus sacerdotum
A small gray-and white songbird with a black mask and chin and a bright white undertail. Upperparts slate-gray and underparts clean white. Very local, restricted to the island of Flores. Found singly or in pairs in the understory of forested hills, where it often joins mixed-species flocks. Lack of peach wash on the breast separates it from Spectacled Monarch. Song is a series of repeated “weee-weee-weee-weee” notes, with a rise in pitch near the end. Also gives scratchy “churr” notes.
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