Song Thrush Turdus philomelos nataliae breeds northwest Xinjiang. HABITAT & BEHAVIOR Feeds on ground in open areas with trees nearby, as well as in forests. Crushes snails against rocks. Less shy than other thrushes. ID & COMPARISON Medium-sized, slender thrush with fine voice. Upperparts plain brown. Arrowhead spotting on off-white underparts reminiscent of Mistle Thrush T. viscivorus, but spots on that species are rounder. Underwing buff-yellow, in contrast to reddish underwing of Chinese Thrush T. mupinensis and Redwing T. iliacus. Lacks black crescent on ear coverts of Chinese Thrush. BARE PARTS Bill brown, paler below; feet pinkish-brown. VOICE Song powerful and sustained, seemingly improvised, a mix of fluted notes and rolling trills, with phrases often repeated. Alarm call a series of scolding chatters. — 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.
