Also known as American Bare-eyed Thrush (Gill & Wright), Bare-eyed Thrush (Clements checklist), and Bare-eyed Robin (AUO checklist)
- Turdus nudigenis
Identification
Note: Frequently called the Bare-eyed Thrush, which easily leads to confusion with the African Bare-eyed Thrush Turdus tephronotus (See section on Naming below).
Upperparts are plain brown, with underside lighter. Throat is striped with white and brown, but a much more obvious field mark is the large yellow eyering that consists of bare facial skin. The bill is yellow. The color of the brown parts can vary quite a bit, some of the variation might be dependent on light quality, but some may also depend on geographic variation.
Notice that the yellow eyering is shared with Forest Thrush, but the latter species has underside scaled in brown and white.
Distribution & Taxonomy
The American Bare-eyed Thrush is found in two subspecies ranging from N Brazil to Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Lesser Antilles reaching at least to Guadeloupe. This bird has been spreading north through the Lesser Antilles for example arriving in Martinique in 1951.
Behaviour
This thrush is agressive towards other similar birds and has been suspected as a culprit in the near extinction of Forest Thrush from St. Lucia. So far, it seems mainly to occur in cultivated areas and open dry forest in Dominica, while the Forest Thrush is found in old growth rainforest.
Naming
This species is also known as Bare-eyed Robin (AOU checklist) or Bare-eyed Thrush (Clements checklist). One of these names is used in all the local field guides that I have looked at (for West Indies, and for Trinidad; I am 99% sure that the field guide for Venezuela also uses one of these two names). Yellow-eyed Thrush is from Sibley and Monroe, but it is not a good name: as you can see, it is not the eye but naked skin around that is yellow.
Originally posted by njlarsen
I agree with Niels that the Sibley-Monroe made an unhappy choice for the English Common Name of this bird. The principle reason is that they preoccupied the Common Name Bare-eyed Thrush for the African - Turdus tephronotus.
Originally posted by cuckooroller
Turns out that the international committee that have recommended names for Birds of the World http://www.worldbirdnames.org/ have recommended American Bare-eyed Thrush for Turdus nudigenis and African Bare-eyed Thrush for Turdus tephronotus.
Originally posted by njlarsen
