Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush

About the Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush

The ruddy-capped nightingale-thrush (Catharus frantzii) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae, the thrushes and allies. It is found from Mexico to Panama. The ruddy-capped nightingale-thrush was originally described by German ornithologist Jean Cabanis in 1861 with its current binomial Catharus frantzii. Its specific epithet commemorates the German naturalist Alexander von Frantzius. Its closest living relatives appear to be the North American species complex containing the veery (C. fuscescens) and the gray-cheeked thrush (C. minimus).

Though the ruddy-capped nightingale-thrush was described as a species, for much of the twentieth century it was treated as a subspecies of the russet nightingale-thrush (C. occidentalis). The two are sister species. The ruddy-capped nightingale-thrush's further taxonomy is unsettled. The IOC, AviList, and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) assign it these eight subspecies:

C. f. omiltemensis Ridgway, 1905 C. f. nelsoni Phillips, AR, 1969 C. f. chiapensis Phillips, AR, 1969 C. f. alticola Salvin & Godman, 1879 C. f. juancitonis Stone, 1931 C. f. waldroni Phillips, AR, 1969 C. f. frantzii... Wikipedia →