Thrushes and Chats (Turdidae)

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Thrushes and chats

(Turdidae)

Class Aves

Order Passeriformes

Suborder Passeri (Oscines)

Family Turdidae

Thumbnail description
Small to medium-sized songbirds with stocky build and short, strong but slender bills, stout legs, and relatively short wings; great variety in color, many larger thrushes more or less spotted beneath, smaller chats varying from plain and brown to boldly patterned and colorful

Size
Smaller chats are 5 in (12.5 cm) long and weigh 0.5 oz (15 g); larger thrushes are 13 in (33 cm) long, weighing 4.9 oz (140 g)

Number of genera, species
54 genera; 300 species

Habitat
From desert to rainforest, and from lowlands to high mountain slopes; most live in woodland or scrub, some entirely terrestrial

Conservation status
Critically Endangered: 7 species; Endangered: 5 species; Vulnerable: 18 species; Near Threatened: 22 species; Data Deficient: 3 species; Extinct: 3 species

Distribution
Widespread in Old and New Worlds, including Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Ocean islands, from far northern America and Eurasia to southern tips of America, Africa, and Australia

Evolution and systematics

Thrushes and chats are found almost throughout the world's land masses, with their greatest diversity in the tropics of Africa and Asia. Many are much-loved species in their native lands. The relationship of some groups such as the solitaires (Myadestes) and forktails (Enicurinae) within the family is contentious. Discussion of groups is somewhat hampered by the complication of English names, especially the use of the word robin to describe species that have some red in the plumage (thus resembling the Eurasian robin, Erithacus rebecula) or groups of species that have a robin-like shape (hence bush robins, also sometimes termed bush chats and robin chats).

Chats, generally smaller, stockier birds than most thrushes, include some well-marked groups such as 10 species of bush robins, three typical robins (Erithacus), a dozen nightingales and similar species, 13 robin chats, 11 redstarts, 11 stonechats, three bluebirds, and 19 wheatears. All of these are well-defined and recognizable groups sharing distinctive features. Some 164 species of chats are found in the Old World, and 87 in Eurasia, while only the solitaires, the three bluebirds, a bluethroat, and a wheatear are native to the New World.

Thrushes comprise 15 genera with a dozen rock thrushes, 26 mountain and ground thrushes (Zoothera), 10 small so-called nightingale-thrushes (Catharus), and approximately 64 typical thrushes (Turdus). Of all of these, 55 species are Eurasian, 21–25 are found in the Afrotropics, and 46 in the Americas.

This distribution of species implies that the Palearctic, basically Europe and much of Asia, is the center from which thrushes evolved and spread, with a secondary center in Africa, perhaps particularly so for chats. New World thrushes probably evolved after invasions from the Old World. Most recently, the northern wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) and the bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) have expanded their range into North America. Similarly, thrushes have expanded from Asia into Oriental regions and Australia and, in the far distant past, reached a number of isolated island groups, including the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean and Hawaii in the Pacific, where unique species have evolved. Some isolated forms have since become among the most threatened bird species in the world. Long-distance flights to isolated islands are not difficult for this strong-flying group: American and eastern Asian species turn up each fall in northwest Europe, for example, far from their normal range.

Physical characteristics

Thrushes are compact, alert, rather upright birds in general, and very varied in appearance. Nevertheless, they do not look particularly dramatic or exceptional in terms of size,

overall shape, bill shape, leg length, or tail length or shape. They do not exhibit any great variety of crests, ruffs, or other feathered ornament, but many are richly colored and beautifully patterned. Indeed, even the most plain have some exquisite subtlety of color visible in a close view.

The bill is strong and slightly decurved, sometimes with a very slightly developed hook. The stout tarsi (legs) have fused horny plates, which are often stronger and larger than in related birds, in keeping with the thrushes' mode of life, which is carried out more on the ground than in trees. Typically, thrushes run and hop or combine the two in a kind of hurried shuffle across the ground, but they are also adept at perching in trees, on overhead wires, on rocks, and on all kinds of artificial structures.

The wings, which have 10 primaries, the outermost often very short, are somewhat rounded except in species that are true migrants, which tend to have longer, more pointed wingtips as might be expected from the journeys they undertake. Some species even show subspecific differences in this regard, with those that migrate farthest having longer wings than more resident species.

The tail has 12 feathers. Usually it is only moderately long, sometimes rather short, and square-tipped, conforming to the thrushes' common conformation.

In many species, adults of both sexes are alike, but in others there is a marked difference. Within true thrushes, blackbirds (Turdus merula) include jet-black males and plain brown females, while male and female song thrushes (T. philomelos) are identical, as are both sexes of the related American robin (T. migratorius), although most females tend to be a little plainer than males. There is little seasonal variation, although paler feather fringes giving duller colors in winter may wear off to reveal stronger patterning in spring, and bill colors may intensify. More usual is a marked difference between adults and young, with a much more spotted effect common on juveniles. In some smaller chats such as the redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) and northern wheatear, juveniles are very like freshly molted fall adults, if not inseparable.

Most wheatears (Oenanthe) have strikingly white rumps and upper tail coverts, usually combined with white beneath the tail and a bold black bar across the tail tip. In some, the center of the tail is black, too, creating a black T shape against an eye-catching blaze of white. This is usually more or less hidden on a perched or standing bird, but revealed in a sudden flash of white as the bird takes flight.

Many typical thrushes and smaller North American thrushes are brown above and pale below with dark spots. Separating them may rely on rather subtle differences: the wood thrush (Catharus mustelina) is brightest and reddest around the head, grayer towards the rear, while Swainson's (C. ustulatus) and gray-cheeked (C. minimus) thrushes are duller overall, and the hermit thrush (C. guttatus) is dull on the head but redder on the tail. Rock thrushes (Monticola) are richly colored, with variable blue or blue-gray on the head and back, and deep orange to rusty-red on the underside and tail. The tropical whistling-thrushes (Myophonus) have some spectacular deep blue plumages, highlighted by small spots or crescents of electric blue or white, while the Zoothera thrushes include several glorious black, rufous, and white species, a number that are largely rich orange or orange and gray (often with white, spotted wing bars, and black and white face patterns), and some more typically spotted species. The rich orange combined with striking black, white, and gray is repeated in a number of the African robin chats (Cossypha). Nightingales (Luscinia) are rather dull and plain, but the related bluethroats include males with stunning deep sky-blue gorgets (neck ruffs), some marked with a central spot of red or white.

Some larger African chats, the small nightingales and bluethroats, and many true thrushes are especially prized for their vocalizations. In many parts of the world, the dawn chorus of territory-holding birds in woodland or suburban gardens is largely made up of thrushes and chats singing loud and long, each species with its characteristic sound and pattern. In Europe, the blackbird and song thrush are common and expert songsters, while in much of Africa the songs (and in some cases, duets) of such birds as the white-browed robin chat (Cossypha heuglini) and olive thrush (Turdus olivaceus) are essential to the aesthetic enjoyment of each dawn and dusk.

Distribution

Thrushes and chats can be found on most land masses except for Antarctica, although only two artificially introduced species occupy New Zealand. A number are extremely restricted in their range. Three species of rock thrush (Monticola) are found only in Madagascar; whistling-thrushes (Myophonus) include one species restricted to Sri Lanka, another to Malaysia, and another to Taiwan. The rarely seen geomalia (Geomalia heinrichi) is a rufous and brown thrush found only in Sulawesi rainforests, but is not the only thrush restricted to Sulawesi. The Amami thrush (Zoothera major) is found on just one small island in the Ryukyu Islands south of Japan, while other Zoothera thrushes are also confined to one or two islands and several Myadestes thrushes are found only within the Hawaiian group. Even within Turdus, there are species with remarkably restricted ranges, including various African islands, while Tristan da Cunha, a remote South Atlantic island group, the Tres Marias Islands off Mexico, and several West Indies islands also have their own unique thrushes. The Seychelles magpie-robin (Copsychus sechellarum) was, until the 1990s, restricted to just one Seychelles island with only 20 individuals, before translocation to other islands in the group helped a recovery to more than 100 individuals by 2001.

These, however, are the exceptions to the general rule, with most species having quite extensive geographical ranges. Some are long-distance migrants such as the northern wheatear. Birds of this species breeding in Greenland set off on a massive trans-oceanic flight direct to Africa each fall, and return in spring via western Europe. The whinchat (Saxicola rubetra) spends each winter in Africa but moves north in spring to breed in Europe, often alongside the similar stonechat (S. torquata), which is an all-year resident in Europe and also in much of Africa. American robins breed throughout North America as far as the northern coasts of Alaska and mainland Canada and south to Mexico, but vast numbers from the northern two-thirds of this huge range move south in winter to join their more southerly relatives. Of the spotted thrushes in North America, the hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus) is the most widespread and the only one that commonly winters in much of the United States. Several thrushes breed in an extensive range across Europe and northern Asia, including the redwing (Turdus iliacus), hundreds of thousands of which pour out of cold Asia and northern Europe in autumn to find milder conditions in western and southern Europe each winter. The dusky thrush (T. naumanni), however, moves south instead of west, to winter in Japan and south-east Asia, while the dark-throated thrush (T. ruficollis) moves south from central Asia to spend the winter months in a belt just north of the Indian subcontinent. The blackbird has one of the most extensive ranges of all, from northwest Europe eastwards and south across Eurasia to the Oriental region, and into Australia and New Zealand. The stonechat has one of the widest ranges of Old World chats, breeding from Britain and Ireland south and east through Europe,

through East Africa south as far as the Cape, in Madagascar and Arabia and, in a separate area of distribution, through a vast area of central and eastern Asia and Japan.

Habitat

Most thrushes are forest birds. Rock thrushes (Monticola) are least tied to woodland, although some are very much woodland birds in their wintering areas, even though they breed in open places. In some species, part of the population may be relatively tame and confiding and live close to human settlements, while others remain shy.

Each species has a preferred habitat that may be extremely narrow or very broad. The American robin has been called one of the most adaptable of North American birds as it has such a wide habitat choice: it lives in just about any kind of forest, in parks, gardens, and farmland, showing a similar ability to accept a wide variety of habitat in winter and in summer. The eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) is found in open woodland, orchards, gardens, and farmland, whereas the western bluebird (S. mexicana) prefers high-altitude slopes and recently burned areas. Many similar pairs or groups of species are separated by such differences in habitat choice.

An example of a rather narrow habitat requirement is the dense thicket needed by the nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) in Europe. Conservationists repeatedly cut trees down to the stump to encourage the growth of new, slender poles from ground level; a dense canopy is of no use for the nightingale,

which requires thick growth right down to the ground, where it feeds and nests. Changes in forest management over the years threatened nightingales until wardens of nature reserves started to replicate out-dated forest practices.

The bluethroat (L. svecica) has much closer affinity to the edges of wetlands, where it skulks in reeds and dense willow thickets. The redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) is principally a bird of oak woodland with a thick, dense canopy above an open forest floor, but it also enjoys the light of woodland glades and forest edge. An all-year resident in Europe is the black redstart (P. ochruros), a bird of cliffs and crags that drops down in winter to rocky shores and the floors of quarries. It has increased and expanded its range by occupying many European towns and villages, finding holes under tiles and in old stonewalls that make an ideal alternative to a hole in a cliff for nesting. It showed a particularly interesting expansion of range into southern England after World War II, when it moved into the vast areas of rubble and crumbling brickwork left by bombing raids on London and elsewhere. With the clearance of such sites from English cities, the black redstart has found it difficult to survive as a British breeding bird, although some still spend the winter in semi-derelict places near the coast where concrete and building rubble replicate a rocky habitat. The blackstart (Cercomela melanura) from the Middle East, another species with a narrow habitat, is a desert rock specialist, living in wadis and along the foot of crags with hot, bare rock and nothing more than a few scrubby acacia bushes. In parts of Africa, the mocking chat (Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris) lives on exposed rocky outcrops on otherwise wooded cliffs. It finds that tourist lodges around places such as Lake Nakuru in Kenya are useful alternative sites, with stone-walled rooms with tiled roofs mimicking the rock outcrops quite well.

Behavior

Many thrushes feed on the ground most of the time and keep under cover in forest or scrub. They scratch with their feet and turn over dead leaves and other litter with their bills to get at invertebrate food. Chats include species that do much the same, and others that live in more open places, especially the wheatears, which hop over open grass, stony or gravelly ground, scree slopes, and rocky places in desert or semi-arid areas. They are territorial birds and sing to attract mates and to warn other males that they are present and claiming their territory. Most sing from perches, but some smaller chats also have a song flight. In some species such as the robin, both sexes may sing and hold winter territories that they defend vigorously. This makes springtime courtship even more imperative to break down territorial tendencies between the sexes. Wood thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) wintering in the United States return to the same spot year after year and defend territories with great determination. Experienced birds that can fight to defend a territory do better than young ones that have not yet found themselves a vacant space: these floating individuals, moving from place to place and losing out in territorial fights, are less likely to survive.

The mistle thrush is well known for defending individual bushes with plentiful berries in fall and winter, fending off competition with great expenditure of energy in order to maintain exclusive access to this food supply all winter. Yet flocks of mistle thrushes feed happily together in late summer and early fall when there is such an abundance of fresh berries that defending them is both impossible and unnecessary: All can feed without competition. Other species remain in flocks throughout the winter, and in western Europe mixed groups of fieldfares and redwings, often with blackbirds and song thrushes at least temporarily joining them, live a nomadic life, wandering and pausing wherever there is food. They are often driven far to the west and south by the onset of severe winter weather.

Keeping plumage in good condition is essential to any bird and thrushes and chats preen frequently. This includes scratching of the head and neck by drooping one wing and reaching above it with the foot, called the indirect method, as opposed to reaching up directly in a method with the foot beneath the wing. They bathe regularly in shallow water but, unlike many smaller species such as sparrows and larger ones such as the game birds, they do not dust-bathe. These birds are, however, noted for their frequent sun bathing and they adopt strange positions in order to soak up the sun as much as possible. The sun may help in keeping feathers in good condition, or reducing infestation by parasites. Some species, including the American robin and blackbird, have also been seen anting, which is placing ants into their feathers or sinking down to let ants run over them; it is likely that this also helps reduce parasites.

At night, thrushes seek a safe, warm, dry, sheltered spot to sleep. Many roost alone, but some do so communally, at least outside the breeding season. Blackbirds call loudly at dusk, sorting out their social hierarchies as they seek the best roost sites. They may form roosts hundreds strong; fieldfares (Turdus pilaris) have been known to roost in flocks of 20,000, and one mixed-thrush roost in winter in France held 200,000 birds. These roosts are usually in dense thickets, where temperature and humidity are much the same inside as outside. However, exposure and wind speed are greatly reduced. Rock thrushes, in contrast, are solitary, roosting in rock crevices or in high tree branches, occasionally in the roofs of old, secluded buildings, while ring ouzels (T. torquata) roost alone among rocks and boulders.

Feeding ecology and diet

Thrushes are mostly generalists: They eat a wide variety of food, concentrating on what is most easily available at the time. This may include earthworms and larvae, beetles or other insects, berries, and fruit. Rock thrushes, however, entirely feed on animals.

The song thrush has become a specialist in finding snails, and smashes them open against a stone (an "anvil") to get at the soft, nutritious fleshy body. Song thrushes in Scotland look for snails on the rocky seashore, which may help the thrushes to survive in dry, hot summers when the ground is too hard for earthworms to be found and easily extracted. The use of anvils is restricted to a handful of thrush species worldwide, including the African thrush (Turdus pelios) and Malabar whistling-thrush (Myophonus horsfieldii).

American robins feed on the ground or in bushes; in winter they forage in large flocks. They advance across the ground in a series of short, bouncy hops, pausing to look and listen. They tilt their heads from side to side, looking for tell tale signs of a worm moving under the surface, then swing forwards to get at the prey with their bills. This is a typical thrush feeding habit. Blackbirds and the various Zoothera thrushes of North America and Asia are great diggers in leaf litter, scratching and tossing away leaves in a noisy performance. The Zoothera species has a curious up-and-down bobbing action while feeding. Blackbirds sometimes take tadpoles, and sometimes newts and tiny fish, from garden ponds. Bluebirds, however, take insects from leaves, usually while perched but sometimes in a hover, and also take flying insects with an aerial foray. They typically use a technique of dropping from a perch to the ground to pick up prey.

Some thrushes eat vast amounts of fruit and berries and excrete the seeds whole. These bird droppings are often responsible for the spread of shrubs and even parasitic plants such as mistletoe, whose seeds are deposited in tree bark in bird droppings. Townsend's solitaire helps disperse several species of juniper, mountain ash, and serviceberry.

In Europe, robins follow wild boars and other animals that forage in forests, and hop around the heaps of earth that are thrown up by moles, hoping to catch a worm or two. In exactly the same way, tame British robins have learned to follow gardeners and often literally hop at the feet of people as they turn over the soil of a flowerbed or prepare a vegetable patch. Robins remain territorial in winter and feed solitarily, even at bird tables and feeders, but these territorial barriers may be broken down by prolonged spells of severe weather, which force the robins to forget their differences for a time

and get on with the business of surviving. In spring, robins, as do some other chats, may be seen feeding one another. This is an important part of the courtship behavior, probably with two main functions: It helps break down inhibitions and allows the pair to bond together and accept close contact, and it also helps the female to get sufficient nutritious food to develop a large and healthy clutch.

The flycatcher-thrushes and ant-thrushes (Neocossyphus) of South America are four species that perch for long spells on a branch, watching for prey, or hop on the ground ready to pick up prey flushed by columns of ants. The whistlingthrushes (Myophonus) forage at the edge of flowing streams. They eat more mollusks and crustaceans than most thrushes. Some island thrushes occasionally eat young birds and even the occasional small rodent.

Reproductive biology

Thrushes are monogamous, but both males and females will take the chance to mate with others if an opportunity arises. Families are, however, reared by both members of the pair. Indeed, it is generally the case that male and female share nest building, incubation, and feeding duties.

Larger thrushes make large nests, in the form of a deep bowl of thin twigs, thick stems, grasses, and straw, variously lined and shaped into a neater central cup. European blackbirds and American robins strengthen the nest with a layer of mud and dung, but line it with a soft layer of fine grass. Song thrushes make do with the mud and the dung, laying their eggs directly onto this strong, hard lining. Mistle thrushes make a larger, less tidy nest, often earlier in the year before leaves are on the trees so the nest is rather conspicuous. These

are, however, large and aggressive birds and usually able to drive away most potential predators, swooping at cats and squirrels and even striking the heads of people if they get too close. Mostly, thrushes are much less demonstrative.

American robins and blackbirds, among others, nest in some unusual places; thrushes have been found nesting between the lights of traffic signals, for example. Blackbirds are likely to build inside a garden shed or garage, finding a shelf or ledge somewhere to accommodate the nest, but risking failure if they become shut out (or, indeed, shut in). Occasionally, blackbirds and European robins have succeeded in rearing young from a nest built inside a vehicle or boat that is in regular use.

Northern wheatears nest in holes in the ground or among piles of rocks or in dry-stone walls. A small heap of tiny pebbles or sand may make a kind of porch at the entrance to a nest hole. Redstarts are particularly likely to use wooden nest boxes, either with a small round entrance hole or an open-fronted design. Eastern bluebirds have been helped by the provision of large numbers of nest boxes that make up for the loss of natural cavities.

While other species may lay a single large clutch to coincide with a seasonal flush of food, and still others live much longer, lay just one or two eggs, and put all their effort into rearing a single chick, thrushes typically lay several small clutches through the course of a season. The end result is the same, but it is a different strategy: more hit and miss. From each clutch, only one or two chicks might survive; eventually, almost all will die in the winter. Perhaps a dozen eggs will be laid, 10 may hatch, and nine of the resultant chicks will die, through disease, starvation, accident, or predation. So long as one adult survives the winter, the single surviving chick is enough to keep the population stable.

Chicks hatch naked and blind and develop a coat of down before growing their first feathers. Chicks of larger thrushes tend to leave the nest several days before they can fly. They are probably too exposed to predators in the nest, which becomes easy to locate as the large adults constantly fly in and out carrying bills full of food, and the chicks themselves beg for food with loud, far-carrying calls. So, while the chicks might seem extremely vulnerable on the ground and unable to fly, they must have a better chance by splitting up and hiding away in the bushes than by staying in the nest.

Smaller chats nest in holes or make domed nests, some with a more or less developed entrance tunnel, carefully hidden in thick vegetation at or close to ground level. They have larger clutches and rear just one or two broods, putting more effort into each than the big thrushes. They risk being around longer as they feed the chicks in the nest until they are ready to fly, but then the nests are harder to find. Birds such as the stonechat, however, impart a remarkably agitated, worried impression as they perch nearby with a bill full of caterpillars or flies, undecided whether to give the game away or dive in to feed the hungry chicks.

Conservation status

Many thrushes are numerous and secure. Others are the subject of intensive research, such as the song thrush in Britain, where numbers have fallen dramatically in recent decades in some areas. The problem appears to involve the survival of fledged chicks and the ability to produce a second brood. Some habitats, especially intensive farmland, have too few nest sites and too little food for a pair of thrushes to rear enough young to replace themselves when they die. Nightingales in Britain are declining, primarily through habitat loss and neglect, but numbers remain high in much of Europe.

Other species are genuinely super-rarities. The Seychelles magpie-robin was pushed to the brink of extinction as its habitats and food supplies were reduced, and introduced predators took their toll. Coconut plantations replaced natural forest, cats and rats caught adult and young birds, nest sites and big insect food disappeared. Only an intensive campaign has achieved a recovery.

The Usambara robin-chat (Alethe montana) is restricted to a tiny area of one Tanzanian forest that is subject to clearance for agriculture and tea plantations. Several island species are at risk from habitat loss compounded by the effects of introduced cats and rats while others such as the Comoro thrush (Turdus bewsheri) that, despite their very restricted range, remain common. The kamao (Myadestes myadestinus), common in Hawaii a century ago, and the olomao (M. lanaiensis), also of Hawaii, are both probably Extinct, while the omao (M. obscurus) occupies less than a third of its past Hawaiian range and is greatly reduced in numbers. The puaiohi (M. palmeri) is Critically Endangered. These are a sad reflection of the inability of conservationists and governments to save the several endangered species on these magical islands.

Significance to humans

In much of southern Europe, especially in Spain, Italy, Greece, and many Mediterranean islands, thrushes are still caught and killed in vast numbers. They are offered in restaurants and sold in supermarkets, bottled or as thrush paté. The overall effect of this long-term exploitation is difficult to determine, but, as it has been happening for so long, it is reasonable to assume that it is not threatening the species concerned. The ethical position, however, is a matter for the individual, and many people find the situation highly distasteful.

Most western Europeans prefer to enjoy their thrushes in a different way. Nightingales, with their wonderful song, have a special place in the poetry of some countries. Certainly, however, the presence of a singing song thrush or blackbird in the garden in spring is a great pleasure to tens of thousands of people. In North America, a nesting pair of bluebirds has a similar effect, and thrushes and chats include some of the best-loved garden birds in the world.

Species accounts

List of Species

Nightingale
Magpie-robin
White-browed robin chat
Rufous bush chat
Eastern bluebird
White-crowned forktail
Townsend's solitaire
Stonechat
Wheatear
Capped wheatear
Blackstart
Anteater chat
Black redstart
Siberian rubythroat
Spotted palm-thrush
Rock thrush
White's thrush
Hermit thrush
Olive thrush
Blackbird
American robin
Red-legged thrush

Nightingale

Luscinia megarhynchos

taxonomy

Luscinia megarhynchos C. L. Brehm, 1831.

other common names

English: Common nightingale; French: Rossignol philomèle; German: Nachtigall; Spanish: Ruiseñor Común.

physical characteristics

6.5 in (16.5 cm); male 0.6–0.8 oz (17–23 g); female 0.6–0.85 oz (17–24 g). Brown upperparts, gray-buff underparts (throat paler), rusty-red rump and tail.

distribution

Breeds southeast England eastwards through central and southern Europe, into central Asia; locally North Africa. Winters in Africa south of Sahara.

habitat

Low, dense thickets, woodland, bushes beside heaths. In winter, bushy, dry savanna.

behavior

Skulking, feeds on or near ground, sings from hidden perch, sometimes more open on bush or tree; territorial, solitary.

feeding ecology and diet

Eats beetles, ants, other invertebrates, some berries in summer; insectivorous in winter.

reproductive biology

Monogamous; nest on or near ground. Lays four to five eggs April–June, incubation 13 days, fledging 11 days; one or two broods.

conservation status

Not threatened, though declining in north and west of range, secure in south and east.

significance to humans

Exceptional song greatly revered but actually less well known than may be suspected; frequent allusions in literature, poetry and music.

Magpie-robin

Copsychus saularis

taxonomy

Copsychus saularis Linnaeus, 1758, Bengal.

other common names

English: Asian magpie-robin, Oriental magpie-robin; French: Shama dayal; German: Dajal; Spanish: Robín la Gazza.

physical characteristics

9 in (23 cm); male 1.1–1.5 oz (31–42 g); female 1.1–1.4 oz (32–40 g). In males, upperparts, head, and breast are black; underparts are white; the tail is black with white outer feathers; the wings have white bars. In females, upperparts, head and breast are dull dark gray. Juveniles resemble adults but have mottled brown breasts.

distribution

Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Indochina, Andaman Islands, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

habitat

Gardens, woodland edge, and forest clearings, open broadleaved forest.

behavior

Pairs or family groups, lively and easily visible, feeds on ground, perches on branches, high wires, poles.

feeding ecology and diet

Large insects taken from ground, spiders, centipedes, earthworms, small lizards, seeds, and nectar.

reproductive biology

Breeds February–August, untidy grassy nest in hole in tree, bank, or wall; four to five eggs, incubation 12–13 days.

conservation status

Not threatened.

significance to humans

None known.

White-browed robin chat

Cossypha heuglini

taxonomy

Cossypha heuglini Hartlaub, 1866, Sudan.

other common names

English: Heuglin's robin; French: Cossyphe de Heuglin; German: Weissbrauenrötel.

physical characteristics

7.9 in (20 cm); male 1.1–1.6 oz (30–44 g); female 1.0–1.3 oz (29–36 g). Brownish upperparts with black head and white brow from bill to nape. Orange throat, neck collar, and underparts.

distribution

Africa south of Sahara, chiefly southerb Sudan through East Africa, Central Africa west to Angola and south to northeastern South Africa and Mozambique.

habitat

Riverside forest and evergreen thickets, with dense understory, garden shrubberies.

behavior

Solitary or in pairs, feeds mostly on ground but sings from high perch.

feeding ecology and diet

Insects, especially beetles and ants, also caterpillars, moths, grasshoppers, and other small invertebrates.

reproductive biology

Monogamous and territorial; strong pair bond throughout year. Nest in cavity in tree or stump. Two to three eggs, incubation by female for 12–17 days.

conservation status

Not threatened. Common and secure in core range, rare in some peripheral regions.

significance to humans

None known.

Rufous bush chat

French: Solitaire de Townsend; German: Bergklarino; Spanish: Clarín Norteño.

physical characteristics

7.9–8.7 in (20–22 cm); 1.1–1.2 oz (30–35 g). Adults are gray overall; black tails with white outer feathers that show during

flight; buff wing patches near the base of blackish flight feathers; white eye rings. Juveniles are brownish gray overall marked with buff and white scalloping on upperparts and underparts.

distribution

North America from Alaska south to Mexico, east to southeast Wyoming, central Arizona, western South Dakota, and Montana.

habitat

Open stands of conifers, edges of extensive conifer forest, often near streams and with little or no undergrowth; also high mountain slopes, cliffs, and ravines up to and above the tree line.

behavior

Often conspicuous; solitary or in loose parties, typically perched upright on exposed perch on tree or post, flying up to catch prey or dropping to the ground to forage.

feeding ecology and diet

Insects, including moths, beetles, caterpillars, ants, bees, and wasps; also eats a wide range of berries.

reproductive biology

Breeds May–July, nest of bark, grass, and roots built by female in bush or shrub or on the ground, often near a stream; three to four eggs incubated for 11–14 days, chicks fledge after 10–12 days; two broods.

conservation status

Not threatened, though uncommon in much of range.

significance to humans

None known.

Stonechat

Saxicola torquata

taxonomy

Saxicola torquata Linnaeus, 1766.

other common names

English: Common stonechat; French: Traquet pâtre; German: Schwartzkehlchen; Spanish: Tarabilla Común.

physical characteristics

4.9 in (12.5 cm); 0.46–0.60 oz (13–17 g). Males have black heads, orange breasts, and large white patches on the sides of the neck. Females and juveniles have a similar plumage pattern, but have brown (rather than black) heads and less ponounced orange and white areas.

distribution

Britain and Ireland, Europe from Denmark south to Iberia and east to Black Sea, Middle East, locally Arabia; Asia east to Japan, south to China; scattered through Africa south to the Cape.

habitat

Heath and rough grassland with thorny scrub, young plantations, forest clearings with bushy undergrowth, open coastal strip above rocky shore and cliffs.

behavior

In pairs or family groups, perching on open bush tops or tall stems, overhead wires, giving frequent harsh, scolding calls.

feeding ecology and diet

Insects and other small invertebrates.

reproductive biology

Monogamous and territorial; nest on or close to ground in dense vegetation, well hidden, sheltered from sun, loosely woven from grass stems, with entrance tunnel; four to six eggs incubated for 13–14 days by female; fledging period 13 days.

conservation status

Not threatened.

significance to humans

None known.

Wheatear

Oenanthe oenanthe

taxonomy

Oenanthe oenanthe Linnaeus, 1758.

other common names

English: Northern wheatear; French: Traquet motteaux; German: Steinschmätzer; Spanish: Collalba Gris.

physical characteristics

5.5–5.9 in (14–15 cm); male 0.6–1.0 oz (18–28 g); female 0.7–1.0 oz (19–28 g). Males have dark gray upperparts, white underparts, and black wings. Their tails have a white base and a black tip. Their throats, breasts, and flanks are covered in a buff wash. Females have brown upperparts and darker brown wings. A rusty wash covers their throats and breasts.

distribution

Alaska, northern coast of Canada, Baffin Island, coasts of Greenland, Iceland, and wide band from northwest Europe south to Iberia and eastwards across Asia; locally Morocco, Tunisia.

habitat

Open grassy ground near rocks, stone walls or crags, sandy heaths, coastal grassland with outcrops of rock, boulders, or scree.

behavior

Singly or in pairs, terrestrial, running or hopping over open spaces or perching on small eminences; male sings from perch or in song flight.

feeding ecology and diet

Insects and other small invertebrates; a few berries.

reproductive biology

Monogamous and territorial; nest in cavity in rocks or wall or in hole in ground, loosely made of grass and stems; four to seven eggs incubated only by female for 13 days; young fledge after 15 days.

conservation status

Not threatened.

significance to humans

None known.

Capped wheatear

Oenanthe pileata

taxonomy

Oenanthe pileata Gmelin, 1789, Cape of Good Hope.

other common names

French: Traquet du Cap; German: Erdschmätzer; Spanish: Collalba Encapotada.

physical characteristics

7.1 in (18 cm); 1.1 oz (32.5 g). Brown upperparts with black tail and rufous-tinged flight feathers. Black crown, bill, cheek, and chest collar. White brow stripe, throat, and breast with rosy-buff belly.

distribution

Africa from Kenya and Angola southwards to the Cape.

habitat

Dry grassy plains, especially overgrazed or burnt areas with a few bushes or termite mounds.

behavior

Solitary but often common, scattered over open ground, perching on small mounds or hopping over short grass; wags tail and flicks wings, bobs on landing after low, fast flight.

feeding ecology and diet

Insects, especially ants, also flies, beetles, locusts, termites, and caterpillars.

reproductive biology

Monogamous, territorial, nesting in hole in ground or termite mound; nest of straw, grass, and leaves; three to four or six eggs, incubation not established.

conservation status

Not threatened.

significance to humans

None known.

Blackstart

Cercomela melanura

tagfxonomy

Cercomela melanura Temminck, 1824, Arabia.

other common names

French: Traquet à queue noir; German: Schwarzschwanz; Spanish: Colinegro Real.

physical characteristics

5.5 in (14 cm); 0.49–0.53 oz (14–15 g). Gray-brown upperparts with black tail. White eye ring. Buff cheek, underparts, and wing edges.

distribution

Locally in Africa along southern edge of Sahara, Red Sea coast, Israel, Jordan, Arabia.

habitat

Rocky, hot hills with or without acacia scrub, thorny bushes in desert ravines and wadis, scree slopes, dry river beds.

behavior

In pairs; tame and fearless; flits between rocks and bushes, often perching deep inside bush, or drops to ground and hops about; flicks and flirts black tail, half-opens wings.

feeding ecology and diet

Insects and their larvae; a few berries.

reproductive biology

Monogamous, territorial, solitary breeder, nesting in cavity in rocks, scree, or wall, under eaves of buildings; three to four eggs.

conservation status

Not threatened.

significance to humans

None known.

Anteater chat

Myrmecocichla aethiops

taxonomy

Myrmecocichla aethiops Cabanis, 1850, Senegal.

other common names

English: Northern anteater chat; French: Traquet brun; German: Ameisenschmätzer; Spanish: Hormiguero.

physical characteristics

7.1 in (18 cm); male 1.8–2.3 oz (51–66 g); female 1.7–2.0 oz (47–58 g). Dark, sooty-brown plumage with black bill and legs. White wing patches are conspicous during flight.

distribution

Narrow band across Africa south of Sahara from Senegal to Sudan, locally southern Kenya and extreme northern Tanzania.

habitat

Open grassy ground with termite mounds and scattered bushes.

behavior

Usually in pairs or small groups, often 5–15 scattered over a small area, perched on bushes, mounds of earth or termite mounds.

feeding ecology and diet

Insects, especially moths, and termites, beetles, spiders, and some fruits.

reproductive biology

Mostly monogamous but cooperative groups assist at some nests; pairs remain together for several years. Nests in tunnel up to 5 ft (1.5 m) long, dug by both sexes in the side of an earth bank, termite mound, or within an animal burrow; two to five eggs, incubated only by female for 14–16 days; young fledge after 21–23 days.

conservation status

Not threatened.

significance to humans

None known.

Black redstart

Phoenicurus ochruros

taxonomy

Phoenicurus ochruros Gmelin, 1774, Iran.

other common names

French: Rougequeue nior; German: Hausrotschwanz; Spanish: Colirrojo Tizón.

physical characteristics

5.5 in (14 cm); 0.5–0.7 oz (13–20 g). Black head and upperparts with dark gray forehead and reddish tail. Throat is black; underparts are rufous. In females, plumage is brown.

distribution

Widespread in Europe north to Baltic Sea, Middle East, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, coast of Libya, Egypt, and Red Sea coasts, Iran, and Afghanistan.

habitat

Cliffs and rocky outcrops from sea level to high altitude in Alps, Pyrenees, Caucasus, and Atlas Mountains, also industrial sites, city buildings, towns, and villages with old buildings, tiled roofs, chimneys; sometimes woodland glades with rocky slopes.

behavior

Singly or in pairs, perching on high rock or rooftop, frequently flirting reddish tail; mostly terrestrial.

feeding ecology and diet

Beetles, ants, grasshoppers, and other insects, many spiders, also earthworms, millipedes, and some fruit.

reproductive biology

Monogamous in most cases, some males with two females; territorial; nest a loose cup of grass, on ledge in roof or outbuilding, in cavity in rocks or hole in wall or pipe; four to six eggs incubated only by female for 12–13 days; young leave nest after 12–17 days, sometimes before they can fly.

conservation status

Not threatened.

significance to humans

None known.

Siberian rubythroat

Erithacus calliope

taxonomy

Erithacus calliope Pallas, 1776.

other common names

French: Calliope Sibérienne; German: Rubinkehlchen; Spanish: Ruiseñor Caliope.

physical characteristics

5.5 in (14 cm); male 0.74–1.0 oz (21–29 g); female 0.56–0.78 oz (16–22 g). Brownish upperparts with white eyebrow and malar stripe. Throat is red (male) or white (female). Males have light brown beast fading to buff, while females have whitish buff underparts with a brown breast band.

distribution

Northern and central Siberia from Urals to Kamchatka.

habitat

Lowland forest, also up to tree line or above in subalpine scrub; usually in thickets, boggy clearings, riverine glades, or meadows.

behavior

Solitary or in small, loose parties, usually on or close to the ground in thick undergrowth, but runs rapidly over open spaces.

feeding ecology and diet

Mostly beetles and other insects, but also various aquatic invertebrates from riversides and shorelines.

reproductive biology

Apparently monogamous and territorial; nests from June–July, in thick bush or tussock near ground; four to six eggs, incubated by female, period undetermined.

conservation status

Not threatened.

significance to humans

None known.

Spotted palm-thrush

Cichladusa guttata

taxonomy

Cichladusa guttata Heuglin, 1862, White Nile.

other common names

English: Collared palm-thrush, morning warbler; French: Cichladuse à collier; German: Morgenrötel; Spanish.

physical characteristics

6.7 in (17 cm); male 0.6–1.1 oz (17–30 g); female 0.6–1.1 oz (16–30 g). Rufous upperparts and tail. Buff brow and underparts with black spotting on breast, fading to mottled rufous on flanks and belly.

distribution

East Africa, from southern Sudan and Ethiopia to northern Tanzania.

habitat

Thick scrub and dense riverside thickets, bushes in dry savanna, mostly at low altitude.

behavior

In pairs or family groups, shy, keeping well hidden, but sometimes more visible in gardens and hotel grounds; mostly terrestrial, flicks wings and slowly waves tail as it hops about.

feeding ecology and diet

Insects, snails, and other small invertebrates.

reproductive biology

Monogamous, territorial; nest of mud, bound with a few strands of grass and lined with roots, on tree branch; two to three eggs incubated mostly by female for 12 days; both adults feed young.

conservation status

Not threatened.

significance to humans

None known.

Rock thrush

Monticola saxatilis

taxonomy

Monticola saxatilis Linnaeus, 1776.

other common names

English: Rufous-tailed rock thrush, European rock-thrush; French: Merle de roche; German: Steinrötel; Spanish: Roquero Rojo.

physical characteristics

7.3 in (18.5 cm); male 1.4–2.3 oz (40–65 g); female 1.5–2.3 oz (42–65 g). Gray head, upperparts, and throat with dull orange breast to undertail. Grayish bill and legs.

distribution

Locally from Iberia and Morocco, eastwards through southern Europe, Turkey, and Iran to central Asia; winters in Africa.

habitat

Sunny, dry, stony, or rocky slopes, upland meadows, and pastures with scattered bushes, barren stony hillsides; winters in wooded savanna.

behavior

Pairs or family groups, mostly terrestrial or perching on low trees or bushes; hops over ground, stands upright like a wheatear, wags tail; mostly shy and solitary.

feeding ecology and diet

Large insects, also centipedes, millipedes, spiders, small lizards, snails, and some fruits.

reproductive biology

Monogamous, territorial; breeds from April onwards; nest in crevice in rock face or wall, under boulder; four to five eggs incubated only by female for 14–15 days; young fly after 14–16 days.

conservation status

Not threatened.

significance to humans

None known.

White's thrush

Zoothera dauma

taxonomy

Turdus dauma Latham, 1790.

other common names

English: Scaly thrush; French: Grive dorée; German: Erddrossel; Spanish: Zorzal Dorado.

physical characteristics

10.6 in (27 cm); male 3.5–6.9 oz (100–195 g); female 3.5–6.3 oz (100–180 g). Distinctive black scales above and below. Upperparts are olive-brown; underparts are white with buffy breast.

distribution

Central and eastern Siberia, southwest India, northern India east to China, Japan, Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands, Solomon Islands.

habitat

Coniferous forest, often in river valleys or close to water, wooded hillsides with mossy rocks, dense undergrowth with deep leaf litter.

behavior

Mostly terrestrial, in deep cover, but flies up into trees when disturbed; shy and reclusive.

feeding ecology and diet

Insects, worms, and berries.

reproductive biology

Monogamous, territorial, and solitary, nesting in June, in tree fork; four to five eggs incubated by female; little information available.

conservation status

Not threatened. Presumed stable, but range and numbers poorly known.

significance to humans

None known.

Hermit thrush

Catharus guttatus

taxonomy

Muscicapa guttata Pallas, 1811, Alaska.

other common names

French: Grive solitaire; German: Einsiedlerdrossel: Spanish: Zorzal de hermit.

physical characteristics

6.3–7.1 in (16–18 cm); male 1.0–1.3 oz (27–37 g); female 1.0–1.1 oz (27–32 g). Rich brown to grayish brown upperparts; reddish tail; whitish underparts with buff-washed breast and gray-or brownish-washed flanks; dark spots on breast and sides of throat. There are size and color variations across the wide breeding range of this species.

distribution

North America, breeding from Alaska to Newfoundland across Canada and south to California, New Mexico; Long Island; winters in southern United States and Central America.

habitat

Coniferous and mixed woodlands and thickets, forest bogs and clearings, also very dry areas but prefers neighborhood of water.

behavior

More secretive than shy, usually solitary, terrestrial or flitting through low vegetation, hopping about on open grass or in deep cover and flying into higher canopy if disturbed; flicks wings and tail and quickly raises and slowly lowers tail on landing.

feeding ecology and diet

Worms, insects, and fruits.

reproductive biology

Breeds May–August, nest of twigs, bark, grass, and roots in tree; three to four eggs incubated only by female for 11–13 days, chicks fly after 10–15 days; two broods.

conservation status

Not threatened.

significance to humans

None known.

Olive thrush

Turdus olivaceus

taxonomy

Turdus olivaceus Linnaeus, 1766, Cape of Good Hope.

other common names

English: African thrush, West African thrush; French: Grive olivâtre; German: Kapdrossel; Spanish: Zorzal olivo.

physical characteristics

8.3–9.4 in (21–24 cm); 1.9–2.9 oz (54–81 g). Dull olive-brown upperparts and tail, with orange underparts and white vent. Throat is speckled white. Bill and legs are yellow-orange.

distribution

Africa, from Eritrea and Ethiopia discontinuously south to the Cape, west to Angola.

habitat

Upland and lowland forest, gardens, and hotel grounds.

behavior

Usually solitary, in trees or on ground beneath, foraging with steady, hopping or walking action, often close to buildings in parks and ornamental grounds.

feeding ecology and diet

Spiders, ants, termites, grasshoppers, millipedes, and other small invertebrates, various household scraps, and many fruits and berries.

reproductive biology

Nests almost throughout the year in some parts of its range; nest is large, untidy cup of leaves, grass, bark and roots, lined with mud, in tree fork, built by female; two to three eggs incubated mostly by female for 14–15 days; young fledge after 16 days.

conservation status

Not threatened.

significance to humans

None known.

Blackbird

Turdus merula

taxonomy

Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758.

other common names

English: Eurasian blackbird, common blackbird; French: Merle noir; German: Amsel; Spanish: Mirlo Comúun.

physical characteristics

9.4–11.4 in (24–29 cm); male 2.1–5.3 oz (60–149 g); female 3.0–3.7 oz (85–106 g). Males have black plumage and a yellow bill; females have brown plumage and a dark bill.

distribution

Europe from Iceland eastwards.

habitat

Mainly damp forest and woodlands, from tundra to golf courses, gardens, parks, and town shrubberies, farmland with hedges, and scattered woods.

behavior

Bold and tame, feeding on ground where walks, hops, or runs; large roosts after breeding season. Flocks in winter.

feeding ecology and diet

Fruits, berries, grass seeds, many invertebrates including beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, snails, spiders, and earthworms.

reproductive biology

Breeds April–August, nest large and untidy, of grass, twigs, stems, and string, lined with mud and fine grass. Three to four eggs, incubation 11–14 days, fledging 15–16 days. Two broods.

conservation status

Not threatened.

significance to humans

None known.

American robin

Turdus migratorius

taxonomy

Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766, America.

other common names

French: Merle d'Amérique; German: Wanderdrossel; Spanish: Robín Americano.

physical characteristics

9.8–11.0 in (25–28 cm); male 2.1–3.2 oz (59–91 g); female 2.5–3.3 oz (72–94 g). Dark brownish gray upperparts; black head (brownish gray in female) with broken white eye ring and yellow bill; brick-red breast (chestnut-orange in female); white lower belly and undertail coverts; dark tail with white outer corners. Juveniles are similar to adults but have white markings on the back and shoulders, and heavy spotting on the underparts.

distribution

Throughout Canada, Alaska, United States, Mexico; winters in south of breeding range, Bahamas, Guatemala.

habitat

Mainly damp forest and woodlands, from tundra to golf courses, gardens, parks, and town shrubberies, farmland with hedges, and scattered woods.

behavior

Bold and tame, feeding on ground where walks, hops, or runs; large roosts after breeding season. Flocks in winter.

feeding ecology and diet

Fruits, berries, grass seeds, many invertebrates, including beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, snails, spiders, and earthworms.

reproductive biology

Breeds April–August, nest, large and untidy, of grass, twigs, stems, and string, lined with mud and fine grass. Three to four eggs, incubation 11–14 days, fledging 15–16 days. Two broods.

conservation status

Not threatened.

significance to humans

None known.

Red-legged thrush

Turdus plumbeus

taxonomy

Turdus plumbeus Linnaeus, 1758, Bahamas.

other common names

French: Merle vantard; German: Rotfussdrossel; Spanish: Zorzal cubano.

physical characteristics

10.2–10.6 in (26–27 cm); 1.8– 2.9 oz (50–82 g). Gray upperparts, reddish legs and bill, red eye ring, white chin, and large white tail tips. Belly color varies between races from white to rufous; throat can be dark to spotted white.