Pied Thrush
Geokichla wardii
杂色地鸫
Introduction
A thrush family member found in India and Sri Lanka. Males are conspicuously black and white while females are olive brown and speckled. Breeding occurs in central Himalayan forests; wintering takes place in hill forests of southern India and Sri Lanka. Forages on leaf litter below forest undergrowth and flies into trees when disturbed, perching still and making them difficult to locate.
Description
A 22 cm (8.7 in) thrush. Males are conspicuously black and white with mostly black upperparts, a long white supercilium, and white tips to the wing coverts, tertials, rump, and tail. Underparts are white with black flank spots; the bill and legs are yellow. Females and young have the same pattern but with black replaced by dark brown and white by light brown, with scalier markings on the underside. The third primary is longest, followed by the fourth, with the second and fifth nearly equal; the first primary is reduced.
Identification
Males are distinctive with their bold black-and-white plumage. The bill is less strongly curved than that of the dark-sided thrush or long-billed thrush. Females, which are olive brown and speckled, lack the prominent pale cheek spot characteristic of the female Siberian thrush. Both sexes have similar patterning but differ in coloration.
Distribution & Habitat
Breeds from western Himachal Pradesh in the Himalayas east to central Nepal (records from Sikkim are questioned). Migratory, wintering mainly in Sri Lanka with smaller numbers in the hills of south India. Regular winter locations include Victoria Park in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka, and hills stations such as Nandi Hills and Yercaud in southern India. Breeds at 1,500-2,500 m (4,900-8,200 ft) in thick woodland; winters at 750-1,500 m (2,460-4,920 ft) in less well-wooded areas.
Behavior & Ecology
Forages alone or in pairs on the ground, flying into trees and perching still when disturbed; can be secretive. Omnivorous but consumes more insects than fruit; forms loose flocks in winter. Breeding season is May to July. The nest is a deep cup lined with grass and cemented with mud, placed in a low tree fork. Clutch size is 3-4 white or bluish eggs. Song consists of a series of squeaky notes followed by short trills, less musical than many other thrushes.
Culture
The binomial name commemorates Samuel Neville Ward (1813-1897), a British colonial administrator in India from 1832 to 1863. Jerdon and Charles Darwin corresponded with Ward, who worked in the Madras Civil Service, was posted at Sirsi, and was known for his natural history studies and artistic talent. Jerdon first obtained a specimen through Ward. The species was long placed in Zoothera but molecular phylogenetic studies in 2008 led to the resurrection of Geokichla; the closest relative is the Siberian thrush (Geokichla sibirica).
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Taxonomy
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Turdidae
- Genus
- Geokichla
- eBird Code
- piethr1
Distribution
breeds Himalayas of northern India from Nepal to Assam; winters to Sri Lanka
Data Sources
CBR Notes: 2024年5月4日，西藏吉隆，廖之锴、邱湧涛、宣夏良、石兴学、范仕祥、宋刚、罗旭（廖之锴等，2024）
Species description from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Taxonomy data from AviList 2025.