Thrushes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On family picnic trips to the woods, we could enjoy the more staccato-like song of the blackbird’s smaller cousin, the song thrush, which constantly changed its theme and would variate the song indefinitely.

Later, when I had developed a deeper interest in birds, I realized that other species of thrushes could be encountered in Denmark. In the coniferous plantations of Jutland, you might get a glimpse of the mistle thrush, which resembled a large song thrush, but could be identified by its white underwing and the hissing call, reminiscent of a wren’s call.

In spring, you might be lucky enough to observe a small flock of ring ouzels, feeding in a field before continuing their northbound migration. And one of the positive signs of autumn were large flocks of fieldfares and redwings, zooming across windblown fields, or tucking into the abundant supplies of rosehips, haws, elder berries, or fallen apples.

When I began travelling, I encountered many other species of thrushes. The family Turdidae is still large, although numerous smaller species, following a number of genetic studies, have now been transferred to other families. The genus Turdus, to which our European thrushes belong, is by far the largest genus, comprising about 84 species, and otherwise the family presently encompasses 17 other genera, counting altogether about 80 species.

The word thrush is derived from Old English throstle, from Proto-Germanic þrustlō, an ancient name for the song thrush. In Old Saxon, þrustlō became throsla, in German Drossel. The latter name was adopted by the Danes, whereas the Swedes use the name trast for these birds, and the Norwegians trost.

Below, a number of species of the thrush family, which I have managed to photograph around the world, are presented.

Information on the etymology behind the scientific names is based on J.A. Jobling 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names, Christopher Helm.

 

 

The generic name is from the Greek geo (‘ground’) and kikhle (‘thrush’), referring to the almost exclusively ground-feeding habit of these birds.

 

Subspecies cyanota of southern India is very distinct, having a white face with two vertical black streaks below and behind the eye. It has been suggested that it forms a separate species, but intermediate forms occur where its range overlaps with that of nominate citrina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It spends much time searching for small invertebrates among the leaf-litter on the forest floor. Its distinctive colouration is an adaptation that makes it difficult to see among the leaves.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘spotted’ or ‘speckled’.

 

 

 

 

 

The male is a gorgeous bird, whose plumage is an almost iridescent hue of blue, whereas the female is greyish with faint white stripes on head, nape, and breast, and a brownish tinge to the wings.

It is distributed from Kashmir along the entire Himalayan chain, and thence northwards through eastern Tibet to western China, from northern Yunnan northwards to eastern Qinghai. It breeds at very high altitudes, between 4,000 and 5,500 m, moving to slightly lower elevations in winter.

Classification-wise, this species has been knocked about a great deal. Initially, it was regarded as belonging to the thrush family, but following some genetic studies it was then transferred to the flycatcher family (Muscicapidae). However, recently it has been moved back to the thrush family!

The generic and specific names are derived from the Latin grandis (‘grand’) and ala (‘wing’), and coelum or caelum (‘sky’) and color (‘colour’), both names of course alluding to the splendid plumage of the male.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek neos (‘new’) and kossyphos, the name of the blackbird (Turdus merula).

 

The specific name refers to the rufous underside of this bird.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is from the Greek psóphos (‘loud noise’) and kikhle (‘thrush’), referring to the loud, clicking call of these birds.

 

This species occurs in grasslands and open woodland, from northern Angola eastwards to western Tanzania, Malawi, and north-western Mozambique, southwards to Namibia and north-eastern South Africa.

The specific name litsitsirupa is a Tswana word, imitating the bird’s call.

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name refers to the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the original name of the eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis), in 1758 named Motacilla sialis by Carl Linnaeus. In Ancient Greek, sialis was the name of an unidentified bird, so-called from its cry, mentioned by Greek grammarians Athenaeus of Naucratis (170-223 A.D.) and Hesychius of Alexandria (5th or 6th Century A.D.).

 

It is distributed in two geographically separate areas, from British Columbia, Washington, and Montana southwards through Oregon, California, and western Nevada to northern Baja California, and from Utah and Colorado southwards to the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Veracruz. Northern populations are migratory, spending the winter in south-western United States and northern Mexico.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek khrysos (‘gold’) and laios (‘thrush’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is migratory, spending the winter in western Europe, and around the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea. Some birds in south-western Norway and Scotland are resident.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘of the flanks’, derived from ile (‘flanks’), naturally alluding to the red flanks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name was given by mistake to this species. It is derived from lebonyana, the Tswana name for the red-billed buffalo-weaver (Bubalornis niger). The prefix Kurrichane is a corruption of the name Kaditshwene, a place in South Africa, where the original specimen was collected. That name is thought to be derived from a Tswana expression: “Ga se ka ditshwene!”, meaning “What an incredible number of baboons!” (Boeyens 2000).

 

 

 

 

 

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare (1564-1616), the weaver Nick Bottom sings:

 

 

Blackbirds are very territorial, even in winter. In my childhood garden, we were feeding birds in the winter, among other things with half-rotten apples, which were much appreciated by the blackbirds. There would always be a male, which claimed exclusive rights to the apples, and he spent a great deal of time chasing the other birds away. However, when he was occupied chasing one bird, the others would see their chance to eat from the apples, so, presumably, they got a larger share than the aggressive male.

This species is distributed from Iceland and northern Scandinavia southwards to Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan, and thence eastwards across northern Iraq and Iran to eastern Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. In Russia, it is restricted to the westernmost part. Central Asian birds, which were formerly considered to be a subspecies of the blackbird, are now generally regarded as a subspecies of Turdus maxima.

The blackbird was introduced to Australia in 1857 and to New Zealand in 1862. Today, it is one of the commonest birds in New Zealand.

The specific name is the classical Latin name of the blackbird.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The American robin is regarded as a symbol of spring. The poem The First Robin, by Canadian poet William Henry Drummond (1854-1907), is based on a Quebec superstition that whoever sees the first robin of spring will have good luck.

This bird was named robin by early settlers, as its reddish-orange breast reminded them of the European robin (Erithacus rubecula).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The adult male is a very pretty bird, with black back and breast band, reddish belly, and pure white head, whereas the female has brown back and crown, buffy eye stripe, reddish breast and belly, and whitish throat.

The specific name is derived from the Latin niveus (‘snow-white’) and ceps (‘headed’), ultimately from caput (‘head’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previously, 7 of these subspecies were included in the olive thrush (T. olivaceus), which was described in 1760 by French naturalist Mathurin Jacques Brisson (1723-1806) in his Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés, based on a specimen collected from Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. He applied a French name to it, Le merle olive du Cap de Bonne Espérance, and also a Latin name, Merula Olivacea Capitis Bonae Spei, both names meaning ‘the olive thrush of Cape of Good Hope’.

In 1766, when the well-known Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) updated his Systema Naturæ for the 12th edition, he added 240 species, which Brisson had previously described, including the olive thrush, naming it Turdus olivaceus, and citing Brisson’s work (Allen 1910).

There is still some controversy about the relationship between these two species, and some authorities maintain that some of the subspecies of African thrush should be transferred back to the olive thrush, which, as of today, is restricted to southern Africa.

In Ancient Greek, pelios has several meanings: ‘bruised’, ‘black and blue’, and ‘livid’. What it refers to in this case is not clear.

 

 

 

 

 

The song thrush has a wide distribution, breeding from northern Norway southwards to northern Spain, Italy, northern Greece, northern Turkey, and northern Iran, and from Ireland eastwards through Europe and Siberia, almost to Lake Baikal. Northern and eastern populations are migratory, spending the winter in southern Europe, northern and north-eastern Africa, and the Middle East. It was introduced to New Zealand in 1862, and today it is very common here. It is also found in a relatively small area of south-eastern Australia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The name fieldfare is derived from the 11th Century word feldefare, which, according to some authorities, means ‘traveller across the fields’. However, in a paper from 1855, On False Etymologies, in Transactions of the Philological Society (6): 69, H. Wedgwood points out that this is a false presumption. In reality, the name is derived from the old Anglo-Saxon name of the bird, feala-for, perhaps alluding to the tawny-yellow colour on the breast.

In Latin, pilaris means ‘thrush’, but this name is in reality based on a misunderstanding. The Ancients mistook the Greek trikhas (a type of thrush) for trikhos (‘hair’), so in Latin it became pilaris (‘to deprive of hair’), derived from pilus (‘hair’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘very similar’ (i.e. to the true blackbird).

 

 

 

 

 

Three subspecies of this bird are distributed across Europe and western Asia, breeding in all of Norway, the extreme western part of Sweden, the northern tip of Finland, on the Kola Peninsula, and in the Timan Mountains, near Arkhangelsk, and also in Scotland, northern England, Wales, and Ireland, in the Pyrenees, the Alps, and mountains of eastern Europe and the Balkans, in southern and eastern Turkey, in the Caucasus, and in northern Iran. In the major part of its distribution area, it is restricted to mountains, where it nests in gullies, rocky areas, or among scree. However, in Scandinavia and the British Isles it may be found down to sea level.

The species is migratory, spending the winter in southern Spain, North Africa, the Balkans, southern Turkey, and western Iran.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘necklaced’ or ‘collared’.

 

 

 

 

 

The name of this genus, today called Asian thrushes, is derived from the Greek zoon (‘animal’) and theras (‘hunter’), referring to the habit of these thrushes to be searching for invertebrates on the forest floor.

 

The specific name is from the Latin aureus (‘golden’). Presumably, it refers to the wings and back of this bird, although they are more brownish than golden. The common name commemorates English naturalist Gilbert White (1720-1793), who is best known for his book Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, first published in 1789.