Chestnut Thrush Chestnut Thrush Turdus rubrocanus rubrocanus is resident southern Tibet and northern and western Sichuan and gouldi Tibetan Plateau to central China. HABITAT & BEHAVIOR In summer in subalpine forests, to 3700 m (12,140 ft.). Shy, often solitary; may form flocks in winter. ID & COMPARISON Male has greyish head and neck and black wings and tail; whitish vent heavily marked with black arrowheads; rest of plumage chestnut. Female and winter male sometimes show pale collar. Females patterned similarly to male, but duller. Juveniles show white on throat and are spotted blackish on malar, breast, and belly. White-backed Thrush T. kessleri is larger and usually at higher elevations and has black head, pale buff breast band and back, and brownish feet. BARE PARTS Bill, eye-ring, and feet yellow. VOICE Beautiful song of short phrases, given from top of tree. Chuckles in alarm. — Craig Brelsford
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Grimmett, Richard, Carol Inskipp, Tim Inskipp, and Sherub. Birds of Bhutan and the Eastern Himalayas. Helm/Bloomsbury, London, 2019.
MacKinnon, John. Guide to the Birds of China. Oxford University Press, 2022.
THE TRUE THRUSHES OF CHINA
shanghaibirding.com has research on all 24 species in the genus Turdus in China. Click any link:
Chinese Thrush Turdus mupinensis
Song Thrush T. philomelos
Mistle Thrush T. viscivorus
Chinese Blackbird T. mandarinus
Redwing T. iliacus
Common Blackbird T. merula
Grey-winged Blackbird T. boulboul
Tickell’s Thrush T. unicolor
Black-breasted Thrush T. dissimilis
Japanese Thrush T. cardis
Grey-backed Thrush T. hortulorum
Eyebrowed Thrush T. obscurus
Pale Thrush T. pallidus
Grey-sided Thrush T. feae
Brown-headed Thrush T. chrysolaus
Tibetan Blackbird T. maximus
White-backed Thrush T. kessleri
Fieldfare T. pilaris
Black-throated Thrush T. atrogularis
Red-throated Thrush T. ruficollis
Dusky Thrush T. eunomus
Naumann’s Thrush T. naumanni
Chestnut Thrush T. rubrocanus
White-collared Blackbird T. albocinctus
See also:
Taiwan Thrush Turdus niveiceps
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Daniel Bengtsson served as chief ornithological consultant for Craig Brelsford’s Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China, from which this species description is drawn.
