Taita Thrush
Turdus helleri
A typical thrush with a dark gray back and breast, a black head, and a white belly with rufous sides. Also note the orange bill, eye-ring, and legs. A scarce bird that is endemic to the Taita Hills of southeast Kenya. Found in the understory of remnant scraps of montane forest, where it is shy and retiring. Distinctive within its tiny range. It has a typical thrush song, and its “chk-chk” and thin “tseeep” calls often reveal this understory specialist.
Identification
The Taita thrush was previously classified as subspecies of the olive thrush (Turdus olivaceus), but it is regarded as distinct species since 1985. It reaches a length between 20 and 22 centimetres. Head, breast and upperparts are coloured darkly. The underparts are white and the flanks have a rufous hue. The eyes and the bill exhibit a pale orange coloration. It was named after zoologist Edmund Heller (1875–1939) a workmate of the American ornithologist Edgar Alexander Mearns (1856–1916) who described this species scientifically in 1913.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Turdus helleri
- Authority
- (Mearns, 1913)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Turdidae
- Genus
- Turdus
Range and habitat
The Taita thrush is a forest-dependent endemic bird confined to four forests in the Taita Hills (in the south east of Kenya): Mbololo, Chawia, Yale and Ngangao. The forests cover a tiny 342 ha. Conservationists are using birds – with the thrush as the flagship species – to champion the conservation of the Taita Hills forests.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
It is restricted to montane moist forests. Despite its natural native habitat having been severely logged in the past, it has avoided forests with secondary growth, shrub vegetation, and cultivated areas. Extensive research has shown only very few migrations between the fragmented populations.
Conservation
The Taita Thrush, facing a precarious status with an estimated population of about 1,400 individuals, encountered a notable decline over recent years. Various population assessments suggest decreases, particularly in subpopulations across Mbololo, Ngangao, and Chawia. However, these figures come with uncertainties due to assumptions about habitat density and the use of estimation models. Urgent conservation actions are imperative to protect the Taita Hills' environment and address habitat degradation, fragmentation, and invasive species threats to secure the thrush's future.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Festive Coquette
Lophornis chalybeus
Tiny hummingbird with a white rump band found in the Atlantic Rainforest region. Adult male has a fantastic iridescent green headdress consisting of a flowing beard ending in white spots, and a glittering face and forehead. Female and young male lack these features and have a white throat with a dark smudge in the center; they are similar to female Frilled Coquette, but lack buff on the face and throat. Feeds on a wide variety of flowers at almost any level, and regularly visits feeders in some areas.
Gray-crowned Flatbill
Tolmomyias poliocephalus
Small, stocky flycatcher with broad, flat bill. Occupies canopy and midstory of forest edges, gardens, and tall second growth in humid lowlands. Has gray crown, pale yellow underparts, and yellow edgings to wing feathers (but not wingbars). Very similar to a few other species of flycatchers, particularly Yellow-margined and Yellow-olive Flycatchers; best distinguishing features include its pale eye, lack of a yellow patch at the base of the primaries, and voice. Call is a loud, quickly rising whistle: “tuee?”, higher and cleaner than similar calls from species like Brownish Twistwing and Blue-backed Manakin, but not as high as the “twee-twee” of Purple-throated Euphonia.
Rufous-bellied Woodpecker
Dendrocopos hyperythrus
A beautiful woodpecker with three disjunct populations: an eastern one which breeds in northeastern China and Russia and winters in southeastern China, a western one in the Himalayas, and a southern one in southern mainland Southeast Asia. In all populations, note bright orange neck and belly, as well as black-and-white spotted wings. Bright red crown is found only on the male; the female has a patchy black and white one. Can be found in a wide range of foothill and lowland forest; favors mixed evergreen forests in the Himalayas, and open dry forest in Southeast Asia. Gives a range of rapid chattering calls and has a short, rapid drum which trails off towards the end.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.