Gray-sided Thrush
Turdus feae
A dull brown thrush with a gray belly and white eyebrows. Head pattern similar to that of Eyebrowed Thrush, but Gray-sided has no orange tones anywhere on the body. Breeds in mid- to high-altitude deciduous forests; many actually move higher in the winter, into evergreen forests, unlike most other high-altitude breeders. Forages quietly on the ground, usually solitarily. Song not as rich and melodious as other thrushes; instead gives a prolonged series of distinct short phrases consisting of bouncy, “fuzzy”-sounding notes.
Identification
The grey-sided thrush is a medium-sized, warm-brown thrush with a white supercilium and crescent below the eye. The male has rufescent-olive upperparts, including the crown and ear-coverts, and grey underparts becoming paler on the belly and vent. The female has a white throat and whiter centre to the breast and belly, some dark spots or streaks on the sides of the throat and upper breast and warm brownish fringes to the breast feathers.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Turdus feae
- Authority
- (Salvadori, 1887)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Turdidae
- Genus
- Turdus
Range and habitat
The species is migratory, breeding in the mountains of north-east China and migrating to subtropical or tropical moist montane forest in India, and Indochina. Lately it has also been found in parts of Daman, Makwanpur; Nepal and as a vagrant in north-eastern Bangladesh.
- Breeding range
- PAL : ne China
- Non-breeding range
- se Asia
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
The grey-sided thrush forages for insects and berries on the ground or less commonly in the trees, often in the company of the eyebrowed thrush (Turdus obscurus). It is also thought to feed on nectar from the flowers of the shingle tree (Acrocarpus fraxinifolius) It is threatened by habitat loss and habitat fragmentation.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Striated Wren-Babbler
Ptilocichla mindanensis
A fairly small bird of lowland and foothill forest floor or dense undergrowth. Warm brown on the upperparts, crown, and sides, with fine buff streaks on the sides and blackish underparts heavily streaked white. Note the contrasting white throat, the black-and-white moustache stripes, and the white stripe from above the eye to the back of the head. Unmistakable in range. Voice includes a variety of medium-pitched whistles, including repeated piping, downslurred notes, plus complex jumbled songs and imitations of other bird species.
Yellow-chinned Spinetail
Certhiaxis cinnamomeus
Small, long-tailed spinetial that is rufous above and white below with a white eyebrow. Note the yellow chin, which can sometimes be difficult to see. Usually seen in pairs foraging in marshes, at the edges of mangroves and in damp grasslands. The song, usually given as a duet, is a loud rattle.
Fine-spotted Woodpecker
Campethera punctuligera
A mid-sized, green-backed woodpecker. Males have a red crown and moustache; females have a white-streaked black forecrown, a red hindcrown, and a white-spotted black moustache. Varies geographically; in most of the range, the underparts are plain buff with some fine speckling, but in the eastern part of the range, the underparts are white with bold spotting. Found in savanna habitats, including broadleaf Guinea savanna and dry thorn savanna. Usually in pairs, which give a series of “kreek” notes in a loud duet. Very similar to Nubian Woodpecker in the narrow zone where their ranges meet, but Fine-spotted is distinguished by having a less streaked face and less heavily marked underparts. Similar overall to Golden-tailed Woodpecker, but has spotted rather than streaked underparts.
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