Alternative name: Formosan Whistling-Thrush
- Myophonus insularis
Identification
28 - 30 cm. Similar to Malabar Whistling Thrush but duller.
- Dull dark blue metallic forehead-band
- Matt black upperparts with royal-blue wing fringes and scaling on uppertail
- Duller glossy royal-blue scaling on underparts
- Red eye
Sexes similar. Juveniles are dull blackish with bluish-tinged wings.
Distribution
Endemic to Taiwan.
A rather common and widespread restricted-range species.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
Closely related to Malabar Whistling Thrush and sometimes considered conspecific.
Habitat
Found in gulleys with water in dense broadleaf evergreen forest.
Occurs from 400 to 2100 m, sometimes higher or down to sea-level in the north.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on freshwater invertebrates and larvae. Takes also earthworms, mantids, orthopterans, frogs and lizards.
Forages in damp areas on the ground or on mid-stream rocks.
Breeding
Breeding season from April to July. The nest is made of moss, dead twigs, stems and roots. It's placed in a cavity among rocks or sometimes in a tree, up to 12 m above the ground. Lays 2 to 4 eggs.
Movements
Presumably a sedentary species.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2015. IOC World Bird Names (version 5.2). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2015)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Taiwan Whistling Thrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 6 October 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Taiwan_Whistling_Thrush
