Dark-sided Thrush

Dark-sided Thrush
Dark-sided Thrush[1]
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
Genus: Zoothera
Species: Z. marginata
Binomial name
Zoothera marginata
Blyth, 1847

The Dark-sided Thrush (Zoothera marginata) is a species of bird in the thrush family Turdidae. It is also known as the Lesser Brown Thrush, the Long-billed Ground-thrush and the Dark-sided Ground-thrush. The species is monotypic (lacking subspecies) and is closely related to a number of thrushes in the genus Zoothera, including the Long-billed Thrush and the widespread White's Thrush. It was described by Edward Blyth in 1847 based upon a specimen collected in Rakhine in Burma (Myanmar).[3]

The species has a discontinuous distribution in the eastern Himalayans, and then a population in the higher areas of Burma, northern Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and the extreme south of China. The species is generally non-migratory but will move down from higher altitudes in winter, and has turned up as a vagrant in Bangladesh. It ranges from 750–2,100 m (2,460–6,900 ft) in broadleaf forests, particularly in damp areas and around rocky streams, also in areas of reed and bamboo in these forests. The species is not common anywhere, but is potentially often overlooked due to its cryptic plumage and retiring behaviour.[3]

The Dark-sided Thrush is 24–25 cm (9.4–9.8 in) in length and weighs around 80 g (2.8 oz). It has a particularly long blackish bill and the plumage is a contrasting dark brown head with rufous-brown wings.The face has a white loral stripe and a white eyering with a whitish throat and chin. The call is a series of monotone thin whistles.[3]

References

  1. ^ Gill, F. & D. Donsker (Eds) (2010). "Sugarbirds, Starlings, Thrushes". IOC World Bird Names (version 2.4). International Ornithological Committee. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/n-sugarbirds.html. Retrieved 15 August, 2011. 
  2. ^ BirdLife International (2004). Zoothera marginata. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 15 August, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c Collar, Nigel (2005), "Family Turdidae (Thrushes)", in del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Christie, David, Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 10, Cuckoo-shrikes to Thrushes, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 696, ISBN 84-87334-72-5