The Abyssinian Thrush or African Mountain Thrush (Turdus abyssinicus) is a passerine

Passerine

A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...

 bird in the Turdidae family. It has recently been split from the Olive Thrush

Olive Thrush

The Olive Thrush is, in its range, one of the most common members of the thrush family . It occurs in east African highlands from Eritrea and Ethiopia in north to the Cape of Good Hope in south...

 (Turdus olivaceus), Usambara Thrush (Turdus roehli) and Taita Thrush

Taita Thrush

The Taita Thrush , also known as Taita Olive Thrush or Heller's Ground Thrush, is a critically endangered bird from the family of thrushes , endemic to the Taita Hills in Kenya.-Description:...

 (Turdus helleri) on genetic

Genetics

Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....

 differences. Their ranges do not overlap. The southern and northern populations may be distinct species. The Abyssinian Thrush is found in eastern Africa from Eritrea

Eritrea

Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...

 in the north to Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

 in the south.

It is found in forests, suburban parks and gardens, and plantations.

Description

It is 22 centimetres (8.7 in) long. This variable forest thrush is generally darker than the African Thrush

African Thrush

The African Thrush is a passerine bird in the thrush family Turdidae. It is common in well-wooded areas over much of sub-Saharan Africa. Populations are resident....

 and has an orange (not yellow) bill. It is also darker than the Kurrichane Thrush

Kurrichane Thrush

The Kurrichane Thrush is a species of bird in the Turdidae family.It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe....

and has no malar stripes. Generally the birds get darker at higher altitudes.