Groundscraper Thrush - BirdForum Opus

T. l. pauciguttata
Photo © by Max Holdt
Windhoek, Namibia, January 2005

Turdus litsipsirupa

Psophocichla litsipsirupa

Identification

Length 22-24 cm (8½-9½ in); mass 71-84 g. A thrush of open habitats with an upright stance and shortish tail.

Upper parts pale grey-brown; bold black-and-white face markings; underparts white or off-white with distinct black teardrop spots.

Similar species

The Spotted Ground-Thrush differs in being a forest thrush with two bold wing-bars, a longer tail and a more horizontal stance. The Song Thrush also has a longer tail and a more horizontal stance, and has brown ear-coverts.

Distribution

Southern and eastern Africa
Western Africa: Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, eSwatini

Taxonomy

Ethiopian Thrush was formerly included in this species. It has formerly been included in genus Psophocichla.

Subspecies

Clements recognizes three subspecies[1].

• T. l. litsipsirupa

• North-eastern and north-central South Africa, eastern Botswana, Zimbabwe, southern Mozambique

• T. l. pauciguttata

• Namibia, western Botswana, southern Angola

• T. l. stierlingi

• Northern Angola to Zambia, south-eastern DRC, western Tanzania, western Malawi

Habitat

Open woodland, savanna and montane grassland.

Behaviour

Forages on the ground in short grass, burnt grass or on bare soil; eats invertebrates.

Breeding

Monogamous; co-operative breeding recorded. The nest is a cup of plant material built in a tree, 2-9 m above the ground. Two to four eggs are laid and incubated for 14-15 days by both sexes. Parasitised by African Cuckoo.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
3. Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533
4. Sinclair, I and P Ryan. 2003. Birds of Africa South of the Sahara. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691118154

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Groundscraper Thrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 13 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Groundscraper_Thrush

External Links

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