Pale-breasted Thrush

About the Pale-breasted Thrush

The pale-breasted thrush (Turdus leucomelas) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in every mainland South American country except Chile and Ecuador. The pale-breasted thrush was originally described in 1818 with the binomial Turdus leucomelas and has retained it ever since. However, taxonomic systems differ in their assignment of subspecies.

The IOC, the Clements taxonomy, and AviList assign it these four subspecies: T. l. albiventer Spix, 1824 T. l. cautor Wetmore, 1946 T. l. upichiarum Stiles & Avendaño, 2019 T. l. leucomelas Vieillot, 1818 However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World does not recognize T. l. upichiarum.

This article follows the IOC et al. four-subspecies model. The pale-breasted thrush is 23 to 27 cm (9.1 to 11 in) long and weighs 47 to 78 g (1.7 to 2.8 oz). The sexes have essentially the same plumage, though females sometimes have darker heads than males. Adults of the nominate subspecies T. l. leucomelas have a medium gray crown and whitish-streaked grayish ear coverts. Their upperparts, wings, and tail are generally pale olive brown. Their wing coverts and the edges... Wikipedia →