Alternative name: White-collared Thrush
- Turdus albocinctus
Identification
26 - 28cm.
- Broad white collar from nape and upper mantle to throat and breast
- Black plumage
- Yellow bill, eye-ring and legs
Females are brown with a duller pastel-grey collar and weakly streaked on throat.
Juveniles have no pale collar, dark upperparts with pale streaks and spots on wing-coverts and a buffy brow and buffy underparts with heavy spots on breast.
Distribution
Found in the Himalayas from northern India east to Nepal, Bhutan and south China (Tibet and Sichuan).
In winter also in northeast India.
One record from Burma, one from Bangladesh.
Locally common.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
Habitat
Moist montanes and high-altitude shrubland. Occurs from 2100 - 4000m in the Himalayas, in winter below 3000m, down to 250m.
Behaviour
A shy and solitary species.
Feeds on invertebrates and insects, takes also fruit, drupes and berries.
Forages on the ground and in trees, in winter commonly in flocks with other thrushes.
Breeding season from March to July. The nest is a compact cup placed 1-3m above the ground in a tree, rarely on or near the ground. Lays 3 - 4 eggs.
A partial migrant, making seasonal vertical movements.
References
- 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
- 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
- Rasmussen, PC and JC Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334672
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) White-collared Blackbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-collared_Blackbird
