| Taita thrush | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Turdidae |
| Genus: | Turdus |
| Species: | T. helleri |
| Binomial name | |
| Turdus helleri (Mearns, 1913) | |
| Synonyms | |
Turdus olivaceus helleri | |
The Taita thrush (Turdus helleri), also known as the Taita olive thrush or Heller's ground thrush, is an endangered bird from the family of thrushes (Turdidae), endemic to the Taita Hills in Kenya.
The Taita thrush was previously classified as subspecies of the olive thrush (Turdus olivaceus), but it is regarded as distinct species since 1985. It reaches a length between 20 and 22 centimetres. Head, breast and upperparts are coloured darkly. The underparts are white and the flanks have a rufous hue. The eyes and the bill exhibit a pale orange coloration. It was named after zoologist Edmund Heller (1875–1939) a workmate of the American ornithologist Edgar Alexander Mearns (1856–1916) who described this species scientifically in 1913.
The Taita thrush is a forest-dependent endemic bird confined to four forests in the Taita Hills (in the south east of Kenya): Mbololo, Chawia, Yale and Ngangao. The forests cover a tiny 342 ha. Conservationists are using birds – with the thrush as the flagship species – to champion the conservation of the Taita Hills forests.
It is restricted to montane moist forests. Despite its natural native habitat having been severely logged in the past, it has avoided forests with secondary growth, shrub vegetation, and cultivated areas. Extensive research has shown only very few migrations between the fragmented populations.
The Taita Thrush, facing a precarious status with an estimated population of about 1,400 individuals, encountered a notable decline over recent years. Various population assessments suggest decreases, particularly in subpopulations across Mbololo, Ngangao, and Chawia. However, these figures come with uncertainties due to assumptions about habitat density and the use of estimation models. Urgent conservation actions are imperative to protect the Taita Hills' environment and address habitat degradation, fragmentation, and invasive species threats to secure the thrush's future. [2]
The Taita Thrush faces significant habitat challenges in the Taita Hills, where indigenous forests have been largely cleared for agriculture and non-native timber cultivation. Despite some segments being protected, ongoing forest loss remains a concern within the species' range. The quality of the remaining larger forest fragments is relatively good, but low connectivity between patches poses a problem for the thrush population, potentially leading to inbreeding issues. [2]
An imbalanced sex ratio, particularly in the Chawia subpopulation, with only 10% of birds being female, raises concerns about long-term survival. This skewed sex ratio may result in a lower-than-expected reproductive rate, potentially affecting the thrush population's sustainability. [2]
The song thrush is a thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic. It has brown upper-parts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies. Its distinctive song, which has repeated musical phrases, has frequently been referred to in poetry.
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The Taita Hills, sometimes also spelled as Teita Hills, are a mountain range located in the Taita-Taveta County in south-eastern Kenya. The hills consist of three massifs: Dawida, Sagalla in the southern side of Voi township and Kasigau in the south near the border of Tanzania. The Dawida massif is the largest and tallest of the three, with an altitude of 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level at its highest peak, Vuria. Dawida has three other main peaks: Iyale, Wesu, and Susu.
Taita–Taveta County is a county of Kenya. Located approximately 200 km northwest of Mombasa, and 360 km southeast of Nairobi, it is a port and major gateway to the United Republic of Tanzania through Taveta. The County headquarters are located in Mwatate. It is one of the six counties in Coastal region of Kenya. Major towns include Voi, Taveta, Mwatate and Wundanyi.
Ngangao Forest is one of the few remaining indigenous cloud forest fragments of the Taita Hills, Kenya. It is located on a rock surrounded by the villages of Makandenyi, Maghimbinyi, Mgambonyi and Kitumbi. It lies 10 km from Wundanyi and can easily be reached by road. There is even frequent public transport from Wundanyi to Makandenyi. The very basic "Ngangao forest camp" is located next to the forester's house at the edge of forest.
The Taita apalis is a bird in the family Cisticolidae that is endemic to the Taita Hills in Kenya. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the bar-throated apalis.
The Sulawesi thrush is a species of passerine bird in the thrush family, Turdidae. It is endemic to the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, where it inhabits evergreen montane forests at altitudes of 1,100–2,400 m (3,600–7,900 ft). Although it has a limited range and is not a common bird, the IUCN has assessed it as being a "least-concern species".
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The chestnut-bellied thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and heavily degraded former forest.
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The Taita people are an ethnic group in Kenya's Taita-Taveta County. They speak Kidawida or Kitaita, which belongs to the Bantu language family. The West-Bantu migrated to the Taita-Taveta County around 1000-1300.
The rufous-backed robin is a songbird of the thrush family. It is endemic to the Pacific slope of Mexico. It is also known as the rufous-backed thrush.
The Abyssinian thrush is a passerine bird in the family Turdidae. It is also known as the African mountain thrush, or northern olive thrush The species was formerly treated as conspecific with the olive thrush but the species were split based on the genetic differences. The ranges do not overlap. The Abyssinian thrush is found in Eritrea and other parts of the Horn of Africa, as well as an area to the southeast extending from the African Great Lakes region to north eastern Zambia and Malawi.
Callulina dawida, also known as Taita warty frog, is a species of frogs in the family Brevicipitidae. It is endemic to Kenya, where it is only found in severely fragmented montane forests in Taita Hills in the south-eastern part of the country. Originally Callulina was thought to be monotypic and widely distributed through Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania and in southern Kenya. However, within the last decade eight new species have been identified, many which are considered critically endangered by IUCN. C. dawida was described in 2009 by a team led by Simon Loader; it received its specific name after Dawida language, which is spoken in Taita Hills.
