Thrush (bird)
Thrushes | |
---|---|
Groundscraper thrush (Turdus litsitsirupa) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Suborder: | Passeri |
Family: | Turdidae Rafinesque, 1815 |
Subfamilies | |
The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flycatchers. Thrushes are small to medium-sized ground living birds that feed on insects, other invertebrates and fruit. Some unrelated species around the world have been named after thrushes due to their similarity to birds in this family.
Characteristics
Thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds, inhabiting wooded areas, and often feeding on the ground. The smallest thrush may be the shortwings, which have ambiguous alliances with both thrushes and Old World flycatchers. The lesser shortwing averages 12 cm (4+1⁄2 in). The largest thrush is the great thrush at 128 to 175 g (4+1⁄2 to 6+1⁄8 oz) and 28 to 33 cm (11 to 13 in); the larger, commonly recognized blue whistling thrush is an Old world flycatcher.[1] The Amami thrush might, however, grow larger than the great thrush. Most species are grey or brown in colour, often with speckled underparts.
They are insectivorous, but most species also eat worms, land snails, and fruit (usually berries). Many species are permanently resident in warm climates, while others migrate to higher latitudes during summer, often over considerable distances.[2]
Thrushes build cup-shaped nests, sometimes lining them with mud. They lay two to five speckled eggs, sometimes laying two or more clutches per year. Both parents help in raising the young.[2] In almost all cases, the nest is placed on a branch; the only exceptions are the three species of bluebird, which nest in holes.
Ecology
Turdidae species spread the seeds of plants, contributing to the dispersal of many species and the recovery of ecosystems.
Plants have limited
Many bats and birds rely heavily on fruits for their diet, including birds in the families
Other seeds may stick to the feet or feathers of birds, and in this way may travel long distances. Seeds of grasses, spores of algae, and the eggs of molluscs and other invertebrates commonly establish in remote areas after long journeys of this sort. The Turdidae have a great ecological importance because some populations migrate long distances and disperse the seeds of endangered plant species at new sites, helping to eliminate inbreeding and increasing the genetic diversity of local flora.
Taxonomy
The family Turdidae was introduced (as Turdinia) by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815.[3][4] The taxonomic treatment of this large family has varied significantly in recent years. Traditionally, the Turdidae included the small Old World species, like the
The family formerly included more species. At the time of the publication of the third edition of
Genera
The family contains 175 species which are divided into 17 genera:[9]
- Grandala – grandala
- Sialia– bluebirds (3 species)
- Stizorhina– rufous thrushes (2 species)
- Neocossyphus – ant thrushes (2 species)
- Pinarornis– boulder chat
- Myadestes – solitaires (12 species, including one recently extinct)
- Chlamydochaera– fruithunter
- Cochoa – cochoas (4 species)
- Ixoreus – varied thrush
- Ridgwayia – Aztec thrush
- Cichlopsis– rufous-brown solitaire
- Entomodestes – solitaires (2 species)
- Hylocichla – wood thrush
- Catharus – typical American thrushes and nightingale-thrushes (13 species)
- Zoothera– Asian thrushes (21 species, including one recently extinct)
- Geokichla – (21 species)
- Turdus – true thrushes (88 species, including one recently extinct)
See list of thrush species for more detail.
Cooking
The thrush is one of the many kinds of small bird that have in the past been trapped and eaten in much of Europe; the practice is now rare.[11] Among traditional ways of cooking thrush were with polenta or grilled on a skewer, in Italy; with juniper berries in Belgium; and made into a pâté or terrine.[11] The French cook and cookery writer Marie-Antoine Carême recommended cooking thrushes in crépinettes and serving with sauce Périgueux.[12]
References
- S2CID 216306066.
- ^ ISBN 1-85391-186-0.
- ^ Rafinesque, Constantine Samuel (1815). Analyse de la nature ou, Tableau de l'univers et des corps organisés (in French). Vol. 1815. Palermo: Self-published. p. 67.
- hdl:2246/830.
- PMID 30936315.
- ISBN 978-0-7136-6536-9.
- ^ PMID 14715230.
- ^ PMID 20656044.
- ^ Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2023). "Thrushes". IOC World Bird List Version 13.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-9568611-2-2.
- ^ ISBN 0-19-211579-0.
- OCLC 969509254.
External links
- Thrush videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- High-resolution photo gallery of around 100 species.