Grey-winged Blackbird Turdus boulboul is common throughout its mainly Himalayan and northern Indochinese range, but rare in China, where it is a summer visitor to Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi. HABITAT & BEHAVIOR A large thrush of montane forests. Breeds at higher altitudes, descending in winter. Shy. Hops on forest floor in search of invertebrates and fruit. ID & COMPARISON Male like Chinese Blackbird T. mandarinus, but with large grey wing patch and brighter orange bill. Lower underparts also show weak grey scaling. Female pale olive-brown with reddish wing patch. Juveniles have spotting and streaking on brown upperparts and wing patches corresponding to sex. BARE PARTS Feet yellow-brown, eye-ring yellow. VOICE Sounds, reminiscent of Common Blackbird T. merula, include a melodious, complex song, a “chuck” alarm call, and an angry chirr. — Craig Brelsford
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.
