La Selle Thrush
Turdus swalesi
A striking medium-sized, ground-dwelling bird of wet forests with dense foliage. Extremely shy; best seen right at dawn when it sometimes visits road and trail edges. No other species in range shares its starkly contrasting black upperparts and largely orange belly. Also note its bright orange bill and eyering, which are shared with the Red-legged Thrush, but note the gray underparts on Red-legged Thrush. Song is a combination of brief up-slurred and down-slurred notes plus sweet whistles of varying length that are given slowly and repetitively.
Identification
The La Selle thrush (Turdus swalesi) is a Vulnerable species of bird in the family Turdidae, the thrushes and allies. It is endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola that is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Taxonomy
Genus: Turdus; Family: Turdidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Turdus swalesi
- Authority
- (Wetmore, 1927)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Turdidae
- Genus
- Turdus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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Large, long-billed dark sunbird with red shoulder tufts that are often hidden. Males have very long tail streamers and are dark iridescent green in breeding plumage, and gray-brown with some green patches in non-breeding plumage. Females are dark gray-brown. Found in grassland and heath habitats at very high elevations. Vocalizations include metallic calls and a quick, scrambled song. Similar to Malachite Sunbird, but generally found at higher elevations, and looks darker in all plumages; female lacks white edges to the tail.
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