White-headed island thrush

White-headed island thrush
Male (left), female (right)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Turdidae
Genus:	Turdus
Species:	T. pritzbueri
Binomial name
Turdus pritzbueri Layard, 1878

The white-headed island-thrush (Turdus pritzbueri), also known as the Loyalty island thrush, ^[1] is a species of passerine in the family Turdidae. It is found in Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of island thrush, but was classified as a distinct species by the IOC and Clements checklist in 2024. ^{[2] [3]}

Taxonomy

The white-headed island thrush was first described as Turdus pritzbueri in 1878 by ornithologist Edgar Leopold Layard based on a specimen from Lifou Island. ^[1] It was later considered to be a subspecies of Island thrush under the name T. p. pritzbueri. Following a 2023 phylogenic study, it was one of 17 species split from the Island thrush in 2024. ^[4]

There are currently two recognized subspecies: ^[1]

• Turdus pritzbueri pritzbueriLayard, 1878 - Found on the islands of Tanna and Futuna in Vanuatu and the Loyalty Islands in New Caledonia
• Turdus pritzbueri albifrons(Ramsay, 1879) - Found on Erromango in Vanuatu

References

1. "Loyalty Island-Thrush". Avibase. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
2. "Proposed Splits/Lumps". IOC World Bird List v14.2. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
3. "2024 Taxonomy Update—COMING SOON". eBird. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
4. Reeve, Andrew Hart; Gower, Graham; Pujolar, José Martín; Smith, Brian Tilston (January 2023). "Population genomics of the island thrush elucidates one of earth's great archipelagic radiations". Evolution Letters. 7 (1). Retrieved 20 October 2024.

External links

• Data related to Turdus pritzbueri at Wikispecies