- Catharus gracilirostris
Identification
Length 13.5 to 16 cm; weight 21 g
Adult:
- Olive- brown upperparts
- Gray crown
- Pale gray underparts, becoming whitish on the belly
- Brownish breast band
- Black bill
Juvenile: darker head and underparts, brown breast band, brown marks on the belly
Similar species
Other Nightingale-Thrushes which do not show the brown breast band separating grey throat and belly, and Wrenthrush which lack the breast band and has a rufous crown stripe.
Distribution
Costa Rica and western Panama (Chiriqui province).
Taxonomy
Subspecies[1]
- C. g. gracilirostris:
- Humid montane forests of Costa Rica
- C. g. accentor: more rufous upperparts and paler underparts than the nominate race
- Humid montane forests of western Panama
A third subspecies bensoni is not recognised by all authorities[2]
Habitat
It is found in the undergrowth of wet mountain oak forests and second growth, usually above 1350 m to patches of shrubbery beyond the tree line.
Behaviour
A rather tame and confiding species.
Diet
Feeds amongst vegetation on the forest floor. Typically thrush-like (hopping and darting and listening), turning leaves over. Usually alone but sometimes in pairs. Diet consists of insects, spiders and small fruits.
Breeding
Two brown eggs, with greeny-blue blotches, are laid in a bulky nest, usually in a small tree.
Vocalisation
Three flute-like tones followed by a jumbled trill, and the call is a high thin seet.
References
- Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Avibase
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Black-billed Nightingale-Thrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 10 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-billed_Nightingale-Thrush
External Links
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