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
Oriental Scops-Owl
Otus sunia
Smallish scops-owl with bright yellow eyes. Comes in grayish-brown and bright rufous morphs. Generally weakly marked, without any prominent features: note weak black border to the facial disc, thinly streaked underparts, and short ear tufts (often held flat). Song is a 3- to 4-note series of hollow-sounding notes, with the last two in rapid succession. Inhabits forests, gardens, and parks from lowlands up into foothills; often close to human habitation in parts of its range.
Reed Cormorant
Microcarbo africanus
A small, speckle-backed cormorant that is common and widespread in fresh water. The adult is blackish with a short black crest above the bill. Immatures are brownish with paler underparts. Although they share the same habitat with Great Cormorant, Long-tailed Cormorants can be separated by their much smaller size, red eyes, and proportionately longer tails. Generally, Long-tailed Cormorant avoids the marine habitats of the similar-looking Crowned Cormorant, which has a larger crest, an unspeckled back, and a shorter tail.
Hamerkop
Scopus umbretta
A squat, brown, ibis-like bird with a bushy-crested “hammer-head”; often found near wetlands or rivers. In flight, it has distinctively deep wingbeats and may occasionally soar very high, when the long neck separates it from raptors. It struts about in wetlands foraging for frogs, fish, and insects. It needs nearby large trees for building its giant (1.5-m-across) stick nest. Calls include a high-pitched “nyip” in flight and a distinctive, rollicking call ending in a purring rattle “kyik-kyik-kyik-kyik-kyik kyik-keeek-kreeeeek”.
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