The austral thrush (''Turdus falcklandii'') is a medium-sized thrush from southern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. There are two

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

, the Magellan thrush (''T. f. magellanicus'') from south

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and south and central

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, and the Falkland thrush (''T. f. falcklandii'') from the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

. The austral thrush is similar to the European blackbird, also of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Turdus True thrushes are medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus ''Turdus'' of the wider thrush family, Turdidae. The genus name ''Turdus'' is Latin for "thrush". The term " thrush" is used for many other birds of the family T ...

'', with a yellow bill and feet, a dark brown head, back and wings and paler underparts. The smaller ''T. f. magellanicus'' is more olive below, while in '' T. f. falcklandii'' the underside tends towards ochre. Both subspecies have streaked throats. In Chile and Argentina the austral thrush lives in a variety of habitats from ''

Nothofagus ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere in southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and Australasia (east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Gui ...

'' forests to agricultural lands and even gardens. On the Falkland Islands it makes use of human altered habitat as well but is most numerous in tussac grasses near beaches.

Gallery

File:TurdusFalklandicusKeulemans.jpg, Falkland thrush, illustration by Keulemans, 1881 File:Austral thrush (Falklands subspecies) (Turdus falcklandii falcklandii).jpg, ''T. f. falcklandii'', at Gypsy Cove, East Falkland. Image:Austral Thrush RWD.jpg, ''T. f. magellanicus'' in Central Chile

References

*Collar, N. J. (2005) Family Turdidae (Thrushes) pp. 514–811 in: del Hoyo. J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., (eds), ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'', Volume Ten, Cuckoo-shrikes to Thrushes,

External links

Videos
on the Internet Bird Collection

(for

) with a range map
Photo gallery
on VIREO
Photo
sunbirdtours
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railwaytouring.co.uk

austral thrush The austral thrush (''Turdus falcklandii'') is a medium-sized thrush from southern South America. There are two subspecies, the Magellan thrush (''T. f. magellanicus'') from south Argentina and south and central Chile, and the Falkland thrush ('' ...

Birds of Chile Birds of Patagonia Birds of the Falkland Islands

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