Pale Thrush
Turdus pallidus
Although not actually pale, this brownish songbird is one of the plainer thrushes in its range. Found in areas of open woodland and scrubland; less tied to extensive forests than other thrushes, particularly in the winter, when it may often be found near reedbeds and in thickets. Sexes similar, both earthen-brown above, paler below, with grayish head, but male has darker ash-gray face, female a dingy white throat. White tail corners obvious in flight.
Identification
It is 23 cm long. The feet are pale pinkish-brown and the bill is grey above and yellow below. The male is brown above with a blue-grey head and throat. The underparts are pale brown, darker on the flanks and whitish on the belly and undertail-coverts. The flight feathers of the wing are dark grey and the underwing-coverts are grey or white. The tail is dark grey with white tips to the outer feathers. The female is similar to the male but duller with a browner head and pale throat.<p>It has harsh chuck-chuck and see-ip calls and a bubbling alarm call.
Taxonomy
The pale thrush was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the thrushes in the genus Turdus and coined the binomial name Turdus pallidus. The scientific name comes from Latin Turdus meaning "thrush" and pallidus meaning "pallid" or "pale". Gmelin based his account on the "Pale thrush" that had been described in 1783 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume work A General Synopsis of Birds. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Turdus pallidus
- Authority
- Gmelin, JF, 1789
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Turdidae
- Genus
- Turdus
Range and habitat
It breeds in south-east Siberia, north-east China and Korea and may breed in Japan, especially on Tsushima Island. It is largely migratory, wintering in southern and central Japan, South Korea and southern China, occasionally reaching as far as Yunnan, Taiwan and the Philippines. It inhabits forests, scrub, gardens and parks. It is a shy bird which keeps to cover. It can occur in large flocks on migration, particularly where there are berries.
- Breeding range
- PAL : se Russia, ne China and the Korea Pen.
- Non-breeding range
- Japan, Taiwan and se China
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Lesser Antillean Tanager
Stilpnia cucullata
A brightly colored small woodland species often found in pairs or small flocks at fruiting trees. Note the dark partial hood and striking turquoise wings. No other species in its range shares these characters. Song consists of a series of high, thin notes followed by a high-pitched jumbled twitter.
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Calidris acuminata
Medium-sized sandpiper with distinct cap. Breeding adults are heavily marked with chevrons and spots on the underparts and have a rich chestnut cap and white eyeing. Nonbreeding adults are duller grayish-brown with a drab brown cap. Juveniles are brightest, with a plain buffy breast, bright cap, and contrasting white eyeline. At all ages, note dull greenish legs and variable paler color at the base of the bill. Similar to Pectoral Sandpiper, but Sharp-tailed is usually brighter (breeding adults and juveniles especially) and lacks a sharp demarcation between streaked breast and white belly. Primarily an Asian species, breeding on tundra in Russia and wintering to Australia and New Zealand. Regular migrant in Alaska; rare to Pacific coast of U.S. and Canada. Found in freshwater marshes and coastal mudflats, sometimes inland. Listen for excited “peep!” calls, often doubled, and other soft twitters.
White-browed Tailorbird
Orthotomus nigriceps
A small, long-billed, long-tailed bird of dense undergrowth in lowland and foothill forest in eastern Mindanao. Has an olive-green back and wings, an olive-green tail often held cocked, a pale gray belly, a black crown, and a white brow. Throat and chest are black in the male and white in the female with streaking around the edge. Similar to Rufous-fronted Tailorbird, especially from behind, but White-browed has black on the head with a white brow. Voice includes monotonous piping notes given in series, or a rapid whistled trill which can be rising or falling.
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