The Dusky Thrush, Turdus eunomus, is a member of the thrush

Thrush (bird)

The thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur worldwide.-Characteristics:Thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds, inhabiting wooded areas, and often feed on the ground or eat small fruit. The smallest thrush may be the Forest Rock-thrush, at and...

 family Turdidae which breeds eastwards from central Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

. It is closely related to the more southerly breeding Naumann's Thrush

Naumann's Thrush

Naumann's Thrush, Turdus naumanni, is a member of the thrush family Turdidae which breeds eastwards from central Siberia. It is closely related to the more northerly breeding Dusky Thrush T...

 T. naumanni; the two have often been regarded as conspecific.

This species breeds in open woodland areas, but unlike Naumann's Thrush, Dusky Thrush is more tolerant of mountainous and tundra-edge habitats. This species is strongly migratory

Bird migration

Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...

, wintering south to southeast Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, principally in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and neighbouring countries. It is a rare vagrant to western Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

.

It nests in trees, laying 3-5 egg

Egg (biology)

An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...

s in an untidy but neatly lined nest. Migrating birds and wintering birds often form small flocks. It is omnivorous, eating a wide range of insects, especially mosquito

Mosquito

Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...

es, earthworm

Earthworm

Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...

s and berries.

This is a medium-sized but stocky thrush, reminiscent in structure of a small Fieldfare

Fieldfare

The Fieldfare is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It breeds in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and Asia. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. It is a very rare breeder in Great Britain and Ireland, but winters in large numbers in these...

. The underwing is reddish brown, and there is a pale supercilium.

Dusky Thrush has a dark brown back and rump; the face, breast, and flank spots rump are black and the belly and undertail are white. Naumann's Thrush in comparison has a paler brown back and head; the face, breast, flank spots and rump are reddish, and the belly and undertail are white.

The female is fairly similar to the male, but immatures have a weaker patterning.

The male Dusky Thrush has a simple fluted or whistling song, similar to the Redwing

Redwing

The Redwing is a bird in the thrush family Turdidae, native to Europe and Asia, slightly smaller than the related Song Thrush.-Taxonomy:...

. There are suggestions that the songs of Dusky and Naumann's Thrush differ.