THRUSHES

Red-legged  Thrush

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Turdus plumbeus

The Red-legged Thrush is often associated to the American Robin because they have similar behavior and they often live near human habitations. There are six subspecies sharing the range and with some differences in colors.

T.p. plumbeus : Found in Bahamas Islands
T.p. rubipres : Found Western and Central Cuba and Island of Pines. It has more white at bill base and orange-buff belly. Bill is red.
T.p. schistaceus : Found in Eastern Cuba. It is still whiter at bill base and has red bill too.
T.p. coryi : Found in Caiman Islands. It is smaller with white malar stripe.
T.p. ardosiaceus : Found in Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. It has slate-gray upperparts. Wings and tail show black inner webs. Underparts are pale gray, becoming whitish on belly and vent. White chin and throat are heavily streaked black, ending in white malar stripe. Lores and malar area are black. Bill, eye-ring, legs and feet are coral-red.
T.p. albiventris : Found in Dominica. It is similar to the previous race with shorter wings, longer legs, white belly and yellow bare parts.

These subspecies have the same behavior.

Adults have slate-gray upperparts and slightly paler gray underparts. Throat is black and chin is white. They have short white malar stripe. Tail is black. Wings are gray and blackish. Bill is blackish. Eyes are dark brown with red eye-ring. Legs and feet are red.

Both sexes are similar.

Juveniles have pale yellow bill. Upperparts are slightly mottled blackish, and underparts are buffier with black spots.

The Red-legged  Thrush is a large thrush, measuring 11 inches in length and weighs approximately 75 grams.

CALL: Typical call is a rapid, high-pitched “weecha weecha weecha” or “chu-week chu-week chu-week”. It also utters some weak “slee”. Alarm call is a loud, high- pitched “wiit-wiit”.

SONG: Melodious but monotonous, including series of phrases such as “chirruit, chirruit, chirruit, eeyu, biyuyu…”

Feeds on invertebrates such as roaches, snails, worms, spiders, ants, grasshoppers, caterpillars. It also takes small vertebrates such as snakes, lizards and frogs. It feeds on fruits of several palm-trees, and also berries and seeds.

Frequents woodlands and forests, from the edges of the coastal wooded areas and mangroves, to higher forests. It is often seen in scrub, rainforest’s edges, coffee-plantations, dry thorn-scrub, and dense undergrowth in deciduous woodlands. It also frequents tangled areas in large gardens. It favors the vicinity of water, mainly in drier locations. It may be seen in urban areas.

Found in the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico.

The nest is usually placed in tree-fork, or palm, on stumps, often on houses in the guttering, at about 8 - 10 meters above the ground. It is a bulky nest made with plant materials such as leaves, rootlets, bark, banana fibers and mud. It is lined with grass and other materials, horsehair and pine-needles.

The female lays 2 - 4 pale greenish-white or greenish-blue eggs with reddish-brown markings. Incubation lasts at least 11 days. The young fledge about 11-12 days after hatching.

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