Bassian thrush | |
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Bassian thrush at Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, Australia | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Turdidae |
Genus: | Zoothera |
Species: | Z. lunulata |
Binomial name | |
Zoothera lunulata (Latham, 1801) | |
Subspecies | |
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The Bassian thrush (Zoothera lunulata), also known as the olive-tailed thrush, is a medium-sized mostly insectivorous thrush found from northern Queensland to southeastern Australia; it also occurs in Tasmania, on some larger islands of Bass Strait, and on Kangaroo Island. The thrushes range from 27 to 29 cm (10.5 to 11.5 in) in length and average 100 g (3.5 oz). [2]
It is estimated that the rangewide population is large, though no official count has ever been established. The population appears to be declining because of ongoing habitat destruction and degradation, but not at a rate that is concerning. [1]
The Bassian thrush lives in shrubland, forests, and rainforests. [3] It appears to be a resident species, but there is some evidence that some individuals have nomadic tendencies, usually in the non-breeding season. [4]
The thrush ranges in color from brown to an olive color, with a white ring around its eyes and black bars on its back, rear, and head. Its underbody is paler, with dark scalloping, and its wings have a dark bar running the length of the underside. [2]
Nesting begins in the winter months (from late June) and continues till the end of summer. The two or three eggs which form a clutch vary from pale green or blue to light stone. The cup-shaped nest is usually built of strips of bark, at times mixed with leaves, and is lined with grasses and rootlets. Sites vary from a few feet to 50 feet from ground. A fork in the tree is usually favoured, but the nest may be placed on the stump, or a ledge in a cave. [4]
Bassian thrushes are known to dislodge their prey out of piles of leaves by disturbing the leaf litter. [5] The birds move quietly and often pause to listen for the movements of the insects. [4]
The orange-headed thrush is a bird in the thrush family.
The fieldfare is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It breeds in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and across the Palearctic. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. It is a very rare breeder in the British Isles, but winters in large numbers in the United Kingdom, Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It is omnivorous, eating a wide range of molluscs, insects and earthworms in the summer, and berries, grain and seeds in the winter.
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The Christmas island-thrush is a species of passerine in the family Turdidae. It is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean. It was formerly considered a subspecies of Island thrush, but was classified as its own species in 2024 by the IOC and Clements checklist.
Western quail-thrush is a species of bird in the family Cinclosomatidae. It is found in arid inland habitat in south-central Western Australia. It typically resides in dry woodland shrub with low understory on a stony ground. The climatic zones it is most commonly found in are semi-arid or arid.