Red-and-black Thrush
Geokichla mendeni
A striking, little-known thrush with a largely jet black body except for a carmine red back, rump, and nape and a large white smudge on the cheeks. Forages on the ground singly or in pairs inside lowland forest. Unmistakable in its restricted range on Peleng and Taliabu islands. Gives a typically complex song characteristic of thrushes, with fluty notes and whistles combined with burry phrases, repeated regularly. Call note is weak and barely audible: a very thin, high-pitched “seeep.”
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Geokichla mendeni
- Authority
- (Neumann, 1939)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Turdidae
- Genus
- Geokichla
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds

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Sri Lanka Scimitar-Babbler
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