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Thrush (bird):''See also other birds with "thrush" in their name: Waterthrush, Colluricincla|Shrike-thrush, Thrush Nightingale
The '''Thrushes''', family (biology)|family '''Turdidae''', are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively in the Old World.
Characteristics
Thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds, inhabiting wooded areas, and often feed on the ground or eat rose hips. They range in size from the Forest Rock Thrush (''Monticola sharpei''), at 21 grams and 14.5 cm (5.8 inches), to the Blue Whistling Thrush (''Myophonus caeruleus''), at 178 grams (6.3 oz) and 33 cm (13 inches). Most species are grey or brown in colour, often with speckled underparts.
They are insectivore|insectivorous, but most species also eat worms, snails, and fruit. Many species are permanently resident in warm climes, while other migrate to higher latitudes during summer, often over considerable distances.[
The songs of some species, including members of the genera ''Catharus'', ''Myadestes'', and ''Turdus'', are considered to be among the most beautiful in the avian world.
]Taxonomy
The taxonomic treatment of this large family has varied significantly in recent years. Traditionally, the Turdidae included the small Old World species, like the Nightingale and European Robin in the subfamily Saxicolini, but most authorities now place this group in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae.
This article follows the ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' with edits from Clement and Hathaway, ''Thrushes'' (2000), and retains the large thrushes in Turdidae. Recent biochemical studies place certain traditional thrush genera (''Monticola'', ''Pseudocossyphus'', ''Myiophonus'', ''Brachypteryx'', and ''Alethe'') in the Muscicapidae. Conversely the Asian saxicoline genera ''Grandala'' and ''Cochoa'' belong here among the thrushes.
Genera
FAMILY: TURDIDAE
- Genus ''Turdus'': true thrushes (some 65 species, 1 recently extinct)
- Genus ''Platycichla'' (2 species) - part of a South American group within ''Turdus''
- Genus ''Nesocichla'': Tristan Thrush or Starchy - part of a South American group within ''Turdus''
- Genus ''Cichlherminia'': Forest Thrush - genus paraphyletic with ''Turdus''
- Genus ''Psophocichla '': Groundscraper Thrush
- Genus ''Zoothera'': Asian thrushes (some 22 species, 1 recently extinct)
- Genus ''Catharus'': typical American thrushes and nightingale-thrushes (12 species)
- Genus ''Wood Thrush|Hylocichla'': Wood Thrush
- Genus ''Aztec Thrush|Ridgwayia'': Aztec Thrush - related to ''Hylocichla''
- Genus ''Varied Thrush|Ixoreus'': Varied Thrush - related to other New World genera
- Genus ''Geomalia'': Geomalia
- Genus ''Cataponera'': Sulawesi Thrush
- Genus ''Sialia'': bluebirds (3 species)
- Genus ''Grandala'', Grandala - related to ''Sialia''
- Genus ''Cichlopsis'': Rufous-brown Solitaire - related to ''Catharus''
- Genus ''Entomodestes'': solitaires (2 species) - related to ''Catharus''
- Genus ''Myadestes'': solitaires (10-11 living species, 2-3 recently extinct)
- Genus ''Neocossyphus'': flycatcher thrushes and "ant-thrushes" (4 species) - related to ''Myadestes''
- Genus ''Cochoa'', cochoas (4 species)
- Genus ''Chlamydochaera'': Fruit-hunter - related to ''Cochoa''
Now usually considered a distinct family distantly related to ''Picathartes'':
- Genus ''rock-jumper|Chaetops'': rock-jumpers (2 species)
For other species previously in Turdidae, see Muscicapidae and chat (bird)|chats.
References
External links
- Thrush videos on the Internet Bird Collection
Category:Turdidae|*
Related Images
Sources: StartLearningNow, Wikipedia | Usage license: GNU FDL
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