Izu Thrush
Turdus celaenops
Handsome songbird found only on Izu, Tokara, and a few other islands off the coast of Japan, where fairly common, most abundant in broadleaf evergreen forests. Male orange-brown above, rich orange below, with black hood, yellow bill, and yellow eyering. Female lacks male’s hood and intense colors; very similar to female and young Brown-headed Thrush but has extensive black spotting on the undertail coverts. Song recalls Japanese Robin’s.
Identification
The Izu thrush is about 23cm long. Their back and tails are black and they have a yellow eye-ring and bill, brown wings, and a rust-red chest. The males have darker plumage than that of the females.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Turdus celaenops
- Authority
- Stejneger, 1887
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Turdidae
- Genus
- Turdus
Range and habitat
The Izu thrush is an endemic bird of Japan. Most are on the Izu Islands. On Izu Ōshima, Miyakejima and Mikurajima they sing two syllables. The song of the population ofHachijojima 90 km south sounds entirely different with one syllable. On their last island of the chain Aogashima they have more syllables.Some less densely populated are on the Tokara Islands Yakushima, Kuchinoshima, Nakanoshima, Tairajima, Akusekijima and Takarajima. On Nakanoshima the song is composed of more syllables. In addition, there are wintering records from Shizuoka, Chiba, Mie and Wakayama Prefectures.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Izu thrushes eat small animals, such as earthworms and insects, and fruits, like cherries or mullberries.<p>The Izu Thrush's breeding season is March to July. During the first half of this season, the male will sing at dawn, but will, during the second half, sing throughout the day. One source described their song as 'kyurrr, chotts' and their call as 'tweet' or 'chat, chat, chat". They build their nests in trees about half a metre from the ground. They use soil to bind the materials, such as grass and moss, together. While the clutch can have as many as five or as few as two eggs, most clutches are of three to four eggs. The eggs are blue with brown spots and are roughly 3cm long. Both parents look after the chicks.<p>Since the introduction of weasels, the fledgling rate has significantly decreased.
Conservation
The izu thrush is described as a vulnerable species by the IUCN Red List. There are between 2500 and 9999 thousand mature individuals and the population is decreasing, though it is not severely fragmented. The amount and/or quality of their habitat is decreasing. They are threatened by volcanoes, roads, railroads, wood plantations, tourism areas, and both native and invasive species and diseases.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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