The ashy thrush (''Geokichla cinerea''), also known as the ashy ground-thrush, is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family

Turdidae 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 flycat ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

and

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s and or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, and the illegal wildlife trade.

Description

EBird eBird is an online database of bird observations providing scientists, researchers and amateur naturalists with real-time data about bird distribution and abundance. Originally restricted to sightings from the Western Hemisphere, the project e ...

describes the bird as "A medium-sized bird of lowland and foothill forest. Forages on the ground. Ashy-gray above with black-and-white bars in the wing and the face. Underparts white, with black spots concentrated in the chest. Similar to White's thrush and

Sunda thrush The Sunda thrush (''Zoothera andromedae'') is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical m ...

, but smaller, with spots rather than scales below and an obvious black vertical bar through the eye. Song is a simple medium-pitched whistled melody. Also gives harsh grating calls." These are ground birds and eat earthworms and other small insects. It has been recorded breeding in

La Mesa Ecopark The La Mesa Ecopark is a public park located in Greater Lagro, Quezon City, Metro Manila, the Philippines. History Covering an area of the public park is located along the natural boundary of the La Mesa Watershed Reservation and its elevation i ...

where that nest had three chicks

Habitat and conservation status

It is found in tropical moist

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

and

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

with a large majority up to 1,100 meters above sea level with a few records up to 1.560. IUCN has assessed this bird as Vulnerable with the population estimated to consist of 6,000 to 15,000 mature individuals with it believed to be declining. This species' main threat is

with wholesale clearance of forest habitats as a result of logging, agricultural conversion, road development and mining activities occurring within the range. It may also suffer from hunting with snares in the Sierra Madre and illicit bird-trapping at Dalton Pass may exert a considerable pressure. It occurs in the protected areas

Angat Watershed Forest Reserve The Angat Watershed Forest Reserve is a conservation area that protects the drainage basin in the southern Sierra Madre range north of Metro Manila in the Philippines where surface water empties into the Angat River and its distributaries. It is s ...

Quezon Protected Landscape The Quezon Protected Landscape is a protected area in the Republic of the Philippines, spanning the municipalities of Pagbilao, Padre Burgos and Atimonan in Quezon province. The park is situated north of the narrowest section of Luzon in Quezon ...

, Mount Makiling National Park and

Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park The Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park is the largest protected area of the Philippines covering the northern range of the Sierra Madre mountains of eastern Luzon. The park is located in the eastern part of the province of Isabela in Cagayan Vall ...

however, like most areas in the

, protection is lax and deforestation and hunting persist even in these areas.

References

ashy thrush The ashy thrush (''Geokichla cinerea''), also known as the ashy ground-thrush, is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is endemic to the Philippines in Luzon and Mindoro. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests and or tr ...

Birds of Luzon Birds of Mindoro Endemic birds of the Philippines

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Turdidae-stub