THRUSHES

Eyebrowed Thrush

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Turdus obscurus

The Eyebrowed Thrush is an Asian thrush species, normally found in Siberia in the summer and southeastern Asia in the winter.

The Eyebrowed Thrush is a medium-sized thrush, measuring 8.3 - 9.1 inches in length and 61 - 117 grams in weight.

Males have mostly deep brown upperparts on the mantle, back and scapulars, whereas lower back, rump and uppertail-coverts show rufous-brown wash. The tail is dark brown.

On the upperwing, alula and primary coverts are darker brown with pale buff edges. The flight-feathers are dark brown with paler outer edges to secondaries and tertials.

Underparts, breast and flanks may vary from buff-brown to orange-rufous. Center of lower breast, belly, vent and undertail-coverts are whitish. On the underwing, the coverts are pale grayish-brown with olive tinge.

The forehead, crown and nape are gray with brownish tinge. Lores are black, like a small area behind the eye. The supercilium, a short submoustachial streak and the chin are whitish. Rest of head and neck are gray.

The bill is brownish, with yellow lower mandible. The eyes are dark brown. Legs and feet vary from yellowish-brown to flesh-brown.

Males and females have similar appearance, although females have browner head and more white on sides of neck and throat. Their underparts are duller.

Juveniles are duller than adults, with indistinct dark and pale markings on the head, buff markings on the upperparts and dark spotting on the underparts

CALL: Gives thin “sip-sip” or longer “ziii” and chuckling “tuck-tuck” or “tchuck” as contact calls. In flight, it utters a thin “zieeh” or harsher “tseee”.

SONG: Includes 2-3 mournful phrases “teveteu trrryutetyute trrryutetyutyu…” usually followed by lower twittering and discordant warbling alternating with short pauses.

Feeds on insects, snails, earthworms, fruits and berries taken both in trees and on the ground.

Breeds in dense coniferous forests and taiga. It often breeds near water, in valleys and slopes covered with Pinus forests with dense canopy, in mixed forests and woods, both in lowlands and mountains.

On migration and in winter, it frequents the edges of cultivated areas, orchards, parks and large gardens with trees.

Breeds in central and eastern Siberia, E to Kamchatka, and S to N Mongolia, Amurland and Sakhalin.

Winters in NE Indian Subcontinent E to Taiwan, S to Greater Sundas and Philippines.

The nest is a large, cup-shaped structure with rootlets, grass, sticks, moss, bark and larch’s needles. It is lined with grass and mud.

The female lays 5 - 6 pale gray to blue-green eggs with dark markings and incubates alone during 13 -1 5 days.

SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.oiseaux-birds.com