Borneo, Feb 2017 (1 Viewer)

[jrawcliffe]

Can anyone help please with the ID of this bird? Poor shot taken from hotel window. From memory, thrush-like and about blackbird size.

 

[Larry Sweetland]

Blue Rock Thrush

 

[THE_FERN]

Yep

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Agreed

 

[MJB]

Can anyone help please with the ID of this bird? Poor shot taken from hotel window. From memory, thrush-like and about blackbird size.

Zuccon & Ericsson 2010 established a basis for a split between western and eastern populations, but their sampling was insufficiently continuous across the entire breeding distribution, leaving a clinal conclusion possible. It's likely that extensive sampling in the area of the Pakistan/Afghanistan border would solve this difficulty, but the greater difficulty of carrying out sustained work in that turbulent region renders that idea moot. That said, there is no doubt that your Bornean bird was from the eastern population, either pandoo or philippensis shortly to migrate north to its breeding grounds...
MJB
Zuccon, D and PGP Ericson. 2010. The Monticola rock-thrushes: phylogeny, and biogeography revisited. Mol. Phyl. Evol. 55: 901-910

 

[Grahame Walbridge]

That said, there is no doubt that your Bornean bird was from the eastern population, either pandoo or philippensis shortly to migrate north to its breeding grounds...
MJB

With extensive chestnut underparts it is a male philippensis.

Grahame.

 

[MJB]

With extensive chestnut underparts it is a male philippensis.

Grahame.

I could only have guessed that point!
MJB

 

[jrawcliffe]

Thanks everyone for the ID and comments.