- Turdus chiguanco
Identification
Length 27-28 cm (10¾-11 in), weight 105-110 g: A medium-large thrush
- Dark sooty or brownish overall plumage
- Paler underparts
- Buffy throat streaks
- Yellow bill and legs
- Red or chestnut iris
Similar Species
Photo © by UsambiroBarbet
Centro de Visitantes, Peninsula Valdes, Argentina, September 2016
Easily confused with the larger and proportionally longer-tailed Great Thrush. Males of that species have an orange-yellow eye-ring unlike the Chiguanco Thrush of the subspecies T. c. chiguanco and T. c. conradi, but the southern T. c. anthracinus (from Bolivia and southwards) has an orange-yellow eye-ring. The plumage of T. c. anthracinus is darker than the overlapping subspecies of the Great Thrush, but elsewhere the opposite is true.
While typically in different habitats, the Chiguanco Thrush can also be confused with the males of the Pale-eyed Thrush (with whitish eyes) and Glossy-black Thrush (with a glossy deep black plumage).
Distribution
South America: from north-central Ecuador (where possibly expanding) south along the Andes in Peru, Bolivia, north-eastern Chile and Argentina, where extends south-east towards the Atlantic coast. Common.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 3 subspecies[1]:
- T. c. conradi:
- T. c. chiguanco:
- Coastal Peru; north-western Bolivia (La Paz)
- T. c. anthracinus:
Habitat
Agricultural areas. Open woodland and shrubland. Often arid areas. Regular in gardens and parks. Mainly in highlands, but also in lowlands in the southern part of its range.
Behaviour
Typical posture is upright, often with hanging wings and raised tail both of which may be flicked.
Frequently in disturbed areas.
Diet
Their diet consists of earthworms, insects, caterpillars, spiders, berries and cultivated tree fruit.
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/
- Veiga, J. O. et al. (2010). Expansión del Zorzal Chiguanco (Turdus chiguanco) al norte de la Patagonia Argentina. Nuestras Aves 55: 23-25
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Sept 2017)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Chiguanco Thrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 10 October 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Chiguanco_Thrush
