Chestnut Thrush - BirdForum Opus

Alternative name: Grey-headed Thrush

Male ssp gouldi
Photo by Jason Tan
Thailand , January, 2010

Turdus rubrocanus

Identification

25 - 28cm.

• Grey hood
• Chestnut body
• Yellow bill and legs
• Blackish wings and tail
• Nominate with very pale grey head, white centre of belly and black-and-white striped undertail-coverts
• gouldi with much darker grey hood (not contrasting with mantle), chestnut centre of belly and black undertail-coverts

Female
Photo by M Kwan
Emeishan, Sichuan,China, July, 2009

Females are duller and usually slightly darker on the head.
Juveniles are darker and browner on head, have a whitish throat, blackish-spotted malar, breast and belly

Distribution

Occurs locally in extreme northwest Afghanistan east to Pakistan and northwest India. Also further east on the Tibetian Plateau east to central China and northern and western Yunnan.
Winters in northern and northeast India, Nepal, Burma (possibly breeds) and northwest Thailand.
Vagrant in Laos and Vietnam.
Common in parts of its range.

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

There are 2 subspecies:

• T. r. rubrocanus:

• Himalayas of Afghanistan to Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan

• T. r. gouldi:

• Himalayas of south-eastern Tibet to soth-western China and northern Myanmar

Habitat

Temperate forests, often in shadier areas. At 1500 - 3300m in the Himalayas, in winter down to 450m.

Behaviour

Feeds on insects, worms, slugs, snails and berries.
Forages mainly on the ground in thickets and forests. Often in small flocks and with other thrush species in winter.
Breeding season from April to August. The nest is a cup made of twigs, grasses, roots and moss. It's placed on the ground or low in a sapling or tree. Lays 2 - 4 eggs.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
2. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and D Christie, eds. 2005. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 10: Cuckoo-Shrikes to Thrushes. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334726
3. Rasmussen, PC and JC Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334672
4. Avibase

• List of references

Recommended Citation

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

External Links

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