Rufous-backed Robin

About the Rufous-backed Robin

The rufous-backed thrush (Turdus rufopalliatus) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is endemic to Mexico but is also a casual visitor to the southwestern United States. It is also known as the rufous-backed robin.

The rufous-backed thrush was originally described in 1840 with the binomial Turdus rufo-palliatus and with modern spelling has kept that binomial ever since. Its further taxonomy is unsettled. The IOC, AviList, and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World assign it these three subspecies:

T. r. rufopalliatus Lafresnaye, 1840 T. r. interior Phillips, AR, 1991 T. r. graysoni (Ridgway, 1882) However, the Clements taxonomy does not recognize T. r. interior but includes it within T. r. rufopalliatus. In addition, some authors have suggested that T. r. graysoni deserves recognition as a full species, "Grayson's robin" or "Grayson's thrush". Clements calls its two subspecies the "rufous-backed robin (rufous-backed)" and "rufous-backed robin (Grayson's)".

This article follows the IOC et al. three-subspecies model. The rufous-backed thrush is similar in size and shape to the American robin (T. migratorius... Wikipedia →