- Margarops fuscatus
Identification
Pearly-eyed Thrasher has brown upperparts, whitish underparts with brown streaking and a bill that is light (often yellowish). Eye is white, and the tail corners are white.
Scaly-breasted Thrasher is smaller, has a smaller black bill, yellow eye, and wing bars.
Distribution
Four subspecies share the range from the southern Bahamas and Puerto Rico through Lesser Antilles to a couple of islands north of Venezuela. One would expect it to be found on Hispaniola as well, but it is almost unknown from that island.
Taxonomy
It seems that the two species of thrashers (Scaly-breasted Thrasher and Pearly-eyed Thrasher) together with the Tremblers (Brown Trembler and Grey Trembler) constitute a group that originated within the Lesser Antilles .
Subspecies
Polytypic, consists of four subspecies:
- M.f. fuscatus
- M.f. densirostris
- M.f. klinikowskii
- M.f. bonairensis
Habitat
Woodlands and forests at all elevations.
Behaviour
Omnivorous, and competes for nest cavities with other species including for example the Puerto Rican Parrot. An agressive species that eats just about anything, including eggs and young of other bird species.
Vocalizations
Recording by NJLarsen in Dominica (there is a background chorus of other birds).
References
- Hunt et al. 2001
- 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.
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Pearly-eyed Thrasher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 October 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Pearly-eyed_Thrasher
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
