Alternative names: African Mountain Thrush
The name "Mountain Thrush" has also been used for this species, a name which has been reserved for Turdus plebejus, the South American species of Mountain Thrush
- Turdus abyssinicus
Identification
Length 24 cm.
Upper-parts and upper chest dark olive grey-brown; throat white heavily streaked black; remainder of under-parts orange; vent whitish; bill orange and legs yellow; yellow eye-ring.
Similar Species
Kurrichane Thrush brighter orange eye-ring and bill; distinct black malar stripes; white centre of belly, paler upper-parts.
Distribution
Common resident the highlands from Eastern Africa.
Taxonomy
Formerly considered conspecific with Olive Thrush, Karoo Thrush, Taita Thrush, Somali Thrush and Usambara Thrush.
Subspecies
There are 6 subspecies[1]:
- T. a. oldeani in north-central Tanzania
- T. a. deckeni in northern Tanzania
- T. a. abyssinicus in Eritrea, Ethiopia, southeastern South Sudan, northern Uganda, Kenya, and northern Tanzania
- T. a. baraka in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and western Uganda
- T. a. bambusicola in Burundi, Rwanda, southwest Uganda, northwest Tanzania and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
- T. a. nyikae in Tanzania, northern Malawi and northeast Zambia
Habitat
Forest, well-wooded areas, alien growth, parks and gardens.
Behaviour
Diet
Its diet consists of insects, molluscs, and spiders.
Breeding
It builds a cup nest, typically up to 6 m above the ground in a tree. The 2-3 blue eggs are incubated mainly by the female for 14-15 days. The chicks fledge in another 16 days.
Vocalisation
Song short sweet phrases, without trilled quality of Kurrichane Thrush.
References
- 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/
- Avibase
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Abyssinian Thrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 21 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Abyssinian_Thrush
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
