Grey-sided thrush

The grey-sided thrush is a species of bird in the thrush family, Turdidae.

Description

The grey-sided thrush is a medium-sized, warm-brown thrush with a white and crescent below the eye. The male has rufescent-olive upperparts, including the crown and ear-coverts, and grey underparts becoming paler on the belly and. The female has a white throat and whiter centre to the breast and belly, some dark spots or streaks on the sides of the throat and upper breast and warm brownish fringes to the breast feathers.

Distribution and habitat

The species is migratory, breeding in the mountains of north-east China and migrating to subtropical or tropical moist montane forest in India, and Indochina. Lately it has also been found in parts of Daman, Makwanpur; Nepal and as a vagrant in north-eastern Bangladesh.

Behaviour and ecology

The grey-sided thrush forages for insects and berries on the ground or less commonly in the trees, often in the company of the eyebrowed thrush. It is also thought to feed on nectar from the flowers of the shingle tree. It is threatened by habitat loss and habitat fragmentation.