Gray-cheeked Thrush
Catharus minimus
Ethereal song rings through breeding grounds in northern spruce forest; found in thickets and forest understory during migration, when it tends to be shy and hard to find. To distinguish from other Catharus thrushes, note very faint eyering and plain gray face. Small bill with yellow base. Grayer face than Swainson's Thrush and lacks buffy eyering. Nearly identical to Bicknell's Thrush, which shows slight reddish wash to plumage. Song is a stuttering series of descending phrases with a notably wiry tone. Call a high-pitched, piercing "pzeeer."
识别特征
The gray-cheeked thrush is slightly larger than other Catharus thrushes, about 16 to 17 cm (6.7 in) in height and weighing between 26 and 30g. Wingspan ranges from 12.6-13.4 in (32-34 cm). The bird can be identified by its grayish face, partial pale eyering, drab gray-brown upperside and extensively dusky flanks. The area between the eye and the beak is grayish as well, but the area running from the beak to above the eye is grayish white. The gray-cheeked thrush is nearly identical to the Bicknell's Thrush.<p>There are two subspecies: the northern gray-cheeked thrush (Catharus minimus alicia), and the nominate subspecies, the Newfoundland gray-cheeked thrush (C. m. minimus). C. m. minimus can be distinguished by its overall browner coloration and buffer wash to the breast compared to C. m. alicia. C. m. minimus also has an extensive brighter yellow area at the base of the lower part of the beak. C. m. alicia has a grayish olive upperpart (whereas C. m. minimus has a brownish olive upperpart) and flanks, a lightly washed cream breast and duller lower part of the beak.
分类信息
In addition to being almost identical physically, the gray-cheeked thrush is sister species to the Bicknell's thrush (Catharus bicknelli). The divergence of the two species is very recent since only little genetic divergence separate them. Dr. Henri Ouellet was the first to propose the separation between the Bicknell's and the gray-cheeked thrush in 1996.
- 学名
- Catharus minimus
- 命名信息
- (Lafresnaye, 1848)
- 目
- Passeriformes
- 科
- Turdidae
- 属
- Catharus
分布与栖息地
The gray-cheeked thrush is a long-distance migrant species with a migration on average of 300 km. They are believed to spend their winter in the Amazon basin and will cross the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico during their spring migration.<p>They are present in their breeding ground from May to August. They breeding range includes the northern boreal forests from Newfoundland to Alaska in North America and across the Bering Sea to Eastern Siberia associated with dense conifer and broadleaf shrub thickets. C. minimus remains uncommon to rare in most regions of North America but can be spotted in any wooded habitat. The breeding range extends north of the treeline into low Arctic willow and alder beds. Grey-cheeked thrushes prefer low coniferous woods, including young regenerating forests, open canopy old growth forests having a dense growth of shrubs and small conifers in the understory, and dense, stunted spruce and fir on windblown sites and near the tree line.<p>The subspecies of C. minimus are also separated by their different breeding ranges: C. m. alicia breeds from Labrador west to Siberia, and C. m. minimus breeds on the island of Newfoundland and possibly adjacent portions of southern coastal Labrador.
- 繁殖区
- PAL, NA : ne Siberia and n North America
- 非繁殖区
- MA, SA
- 迁徙
- Complete migrants
行为
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
保护状况
Population trend: declining.
- 种群趋势
- declining
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Common Eider
Somateria mollissima
Flocks of these large sea ducks enliven northern coastlines. Males are white and black with a soft suffusion of green on the nape. Immature males are variable and messy-looking with patches of black and white. Females vary from rich rufous-brown to cold grayish, always with extensive black barring covering body and wings. Slight variation in bill shape and color across subspecies, especially obvious on males; Pacific birds have brightest orange bills, most others have greenish bills. Dives to feed on mollusks and other crustaceans. In late summer, look for flocks of females with dozens of ducklings; broods often join together. Compare females with other eider species, and note details of bill and head shape.
Spotted Whistling-Duck
Dendrocygna guttata
Small whistling-duck with strongly pale-spotted neck and flanks, dark bill, and gray face. Similar to Wandering Whistling-Duck, but lacks warm rusty coloring, and has pale-spotted rather than dark-spotted breast. Found in small flocks in coastal wetlands and lagoons. Australia range slowly expanding southwards from Cape York region, with regular records now from the Wet Tropics.
Syrian Serin
Serinus syriacus
A small and elegant finch. More elongated than European Serin and much plainer. Note the unstreaked underparts and green wing coverts. Adults have a yellow face while young are browner. Call is a high-pitched trill, more buzzing than European Serin. Breeds in open woodland and scrub on rocky slopes of high mountains. In winter descends to arid and semi-arid habitats.
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