Brown-headed Thrush - BirdForum Opus

Alternative name: Red-bellied Thrush

Adult male
Photo © by Neil
Hong Kong, China, 28 February 2008

Turdus chrysolaus

Identification

23cm (9 in)
Male

• Slate brown head with black throat and face.
• Narrow yellow eyering.
• Dingy yellow bill usually with dark tip.
• Brown back with olive tone.
• Chestnut orange breast and flanks
• White belly
  

Female and immature are similar to male but paler with dark streaks on white throat.

Female
Photo © by DaninJapan
Kin-cho, Okinawa, Japan, 8 February 2008

Distribution

Asia: found in Russia, Siberia, China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan
Southeast Asia: Philippines

Taxonomy

Has been considered conspecific with Pale Thrush and Izu Thrush by some authors.

Subspecies^[1]

There are 2 subspecies:

• T. c. orii: Larger with darker crown

• Kuril Islands; winters to main Japanese islands and Ryukyu Island

• T. c. chrysolaus:

• Sakhalin Island (Russia) to northern Japan; winters to southern China and Philippines

Some authors consider this species to be monotypic.

Habitat

Temperate forest, cultivated fields, scrub, parks and gardens.

Behaviour

Breeding

Breeds May to August, often double-brooded. Nest is a cup of mud, grass and pine needles, lined with dried leaves.

Diet

The diet includes spiders, insects, berries and fruits.

Vocalisations

Song is pleasant and melodic three part series similar to that of Siberian Thrush

Movements

Partly migratory.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Brazil, M. (2018) Birds of Japan. Helm Field Guides
4. Clement, P. & Hathway, R. (2000) Thrushes. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton.
5. Collar, N. (2019). Brown-headed Thrush (Turdus chrysolaus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/58270 on 28 March 2019).

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Brown-headed Thrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Brown-headed_Thrush

External Links

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