Grey-winged Blackbird - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by Marc Guyt
Sat Tal, Uttarakhand, Himalayas, India, 26 January 2005

Turdus boulboul

Identification

Female
Photo © by Peter Ericsson
Doi Angkhang, Thailand, February 2009

27–29 cm (10½-11½ in)
Male

• Black plumage with pale greyish panel on greater secondary coverts and secondaries
• Orange bill
• Yellow eye-ring
• Yellow legs
  

Female

• Olive brown with a paler rufescent wing-panel
• Yellow bill

Sometimes males can have white wing-panels.

Distribution

Found in the Himalayas from North Pakistan to India, Nepal and Bhutan. Also in South China (Yunnan and Sichuan), northern Vietnam and Laos, mountains of Burma and northernmost Thailand.

Taxonomy

Immature Male
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Dalhousie Hill Station, Himachal Pradesh, Altitude 6900 feet above msl, Himalayas, India, 20 June 2014

This is a monotypic species^[1].

Habitat

Oak and rhododendron forest with thick ground vegetation, also tall conifer forests, clearings and dry scrub on open hillsides. Usually in thicker woods than similar White-collared Blackbird.

Behaviour

Shy and quick to take flight when disturbed. Hops on the ground in typical thrush fashion.

Diet

Feeds on invertebrates, snails, slugs, earthworms, also fruit and berries.

Breeding

Breeds from March to August. The nest is a cup of grass, leaves, moss and lichens, placed in a fork of a tree, close to the trunk around 2 to 5 m above the ground. 3 to 4 eggs are laid.

Movements

Immature Female
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Dalhousie Hill Station, Himachal Pradesh, Altitude 6900 feet above msl, Himalayas India, 20 June 2014

Altitudinal migrant, found in the lowlands in winter, then sometimes in flocks associated with other thrushes.

Vocalisation

Song recorded in Kalatop Sanctuary, Himalayan Forest (2417 meter/7930 ft), Upper Dalhousie, Dist. Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, India; June-2009.

Recording © by Alok Tewari

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Grey-winged Blackbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 16 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Grey-winged_Blackbird

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