Pied Thrush
Encyclopedia
The Pied Thrush is a member of the thrush
family found in India and Sri Lanka. The males are conspicuously patterned in black and white while the females are olive brown and speckled. They breed in the central Himalayan forests and winter in the hill forests of southern India and Sri Lanka. Like many other thrushes, they forage on leaf litter below forest undergrowth and fly into trees when disturbed and sit still making them difficult to locate.
The bill is not as strongly curved as that of the Dark-sided Thrush
or the Long-billed Thrush
and the female lacks the prominent pale cheek spot of the similar looking female Siberian Thrush
.
The binomial commemorates Samuel Neville Ward (1813–1897), a British colonial administrator in India from 1832 to 1863. Although most sources including Jerdon refer to him as Mr S N Ward of the Madras Civil Service (as did Charles Darwin) he was posted at Sirsi and known for his natural history studies and artistic talent.
Thomas C. Jerdon
who first obtained a specimen of the species from Ward notes:
in the Himalayas
east at least until central Nepal
. Records from further east such as Sikkim have been questioned by Rasmussen and Anderton (2005). The Pied Thrush is migratory
, wintering mainly in Sri Lanka
, with smaller numbers in the hills of south India
. During passage, they may be preyed on by crows.
Although rare, they are locally and seasonally seen regularly at certain locations in winter such as at Victoria Park in Nuwara Eliya
, Sri Lanka, where a number of birds gather by the stream early in the morning or in some hills stations in southern India such as Nandi Hills
and Yercaud.
, but eat more insect
s than fruit. They form loose flocks in winter.
The breeding season is May to July and the nest is a deep cup lined with grass and cemented with mud and placed in a low tree fork. The clutch consists of 3-4 white or bluish eggs. This uncommon species breeds in the Himalayas between 1500 and 2500 m in thick woodland. The wintering areas are similar but include less well-wooded areas, and are generally at 750 to 1500 m altitude.
Their song is not considered as musical as those of many others thrushes and consists of a series of squeaky notes followed by short trills.
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 found in India and Sri Lanka. The males are conspicuously patterned in black and white while the females are olive brown and speckled. They breed in the central Himalayan forests and winter in the hill forests of southern India and Sri Lanka. Like many other thrushes, they forage on leaf litter below forest undergrowth and fly into trees when disturbed and sit still making them difficult to locate.
Description
Males of this 22 cm thrush are conspicuously black and white. Mostly black on the upper parts it has a long white supercilium, and white tips to the wing coverts, tertials, rump and tail. The underparts are white with black flank spots the bill and legs are yellow. Females and young birds have the same basic pattern, but the black is replaced by dark brown, and the white by light brown. The markings on the underside are scalier.The bill is not as strongly curved as that of the Dark-sided Thrush
Dark-sided Thrush
The Dark-sided Thrush is a species of bird in the thrush family Turdidae. It is also known as the Lesser Brown Thrush, the Long-billed Ground-thrush and the Dark-sided Ground-thrush...
or the Long-billed Thrush
Long-billed Thrush
The Long-billed Thrush is a species of bird in the Turdidae family.It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.-References:...
and the female lacks the prominent pale cheek spot of the similar looking female Siberian Thrush
Siberian Thrush
The Siberian Thrush, Zoothera sibirica, is a member of the Thrush family Turdidae.It breeds in taiga in Siberia. It is strongly migratory, with most birds moving to southeastern Asia during the winter. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe. It is very secretive.The Siberian Thrush is similar...
.
The binomial commemorates Samuel Neville Ward (1813–1897), a British colonial administrator in India from 1832 to 1863. Although most sources including Jerdon refer to him as Mr S N Ward of the Madras Civil Service (as did Charles Darwin) he was posted at Sirsi and known for his natural history studies and artistic talent.
Thomas C. Jerdon
Thomas C. Jerdon
Thomas Caverhill Jerdon was a British physician, zoologist and botanist. He is best remembered for his pioneering works on the ornithology of India...
who first obtained a specimen of the species from Ward notes:
Distribution
The summer breeding range is from western Himachal PradeshHimachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
in the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
east at least until central Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. Records from further east such as Sikkim have been questioned by Rasmussen and Anderton (2005). The Pied Thrush is 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 mainly in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, with smaller numbers in the hills of south India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. During passage, they may be preyed on by crows.
Although rare, they are locally and seasonally seen regularly at certain locations in winter such as at Victoria Park in Nuwara Eliya
Nuwara Eliya
Nuwara Eliya , meaning "city on the plain " or "city of light", is a town in the central highlands of Sri Lanka with a picturesque landscape and temperate climate. It is located at an altitude of 1,868 m and is considered to be the most important location for Tea production in Sri Lanka...
, Sri Lanka, where a number of birds gather by the stream early in the morning or in some hills stations in southern India such as Nandi Hills
Nandi Hills, India
Nandi Hills or Nandidurg is an ancient hill fortress of southern India, in the Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka state. It is located just 10 km from Chickballapur town and approximately 60 km from the city of Bangalore...
and Yercaud.
Behaviour and ecology
They forage alone or in pairs, often seen on the ground but flying into the trees and perching still when disturbed. The Pied Thrush, like many Zoothera thrushes, can be quite secretive. Pied Thrushes are omnivorousOmnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
, but eat more insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s than fruit. They form loose flocks in winter.
The breeding season is May to July and the nest is a deep cup lined with grass and cemented with mud and placed in a low tree fork. The clutch consists of 3-4 white or bluish eggs. This uncommon species breeds in the Himalayas between 1500 and 2500 m in thick woodland. The wintering areas are similar but include less well-wooded areas, and are generally at 750 to 1500 m altitude.
Their song is not considered as musical as those of many others thrushes and consists of a series of squeaky notes followed by short trills.