The Indian blackbird (''Turdus simillimus'') is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the

common blackbird The common blackbird (''Turdus merula'') is a species of true thrush. It is also called the Eurasian blackbird (especially in North America, to distinguish it from the unrelated New World blackbirds), or simply the blackbird where this does not ...

. It is found only in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. The subspecies from most of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

, ''simillimus'', ''nigropileus'', ''bourdilloni'' and ''spencei'', are small, only long, and have broad eye-rings. They also differ in proportions, wing formula, egg colour and voice from the common blackbird.Collar, N. J. (2005). Indian Blackbird (''Turdus simillimus''). p. 646 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Christie, D. A. eds. (2005) ''

Handbook of the Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. T ...

.'' Vol. 10. Cuckoo-shrikes to Thrushes. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Subspecies

*The Nilgiri blackbird (''T. s. simillimus'') is resident up to 2000 metres in the Western Ghats from Biligirirangans and Nilgiris till about Nelliampathies where it integrates with Bourdillon's blackbird. *The black-capped blackbird (''T. s. nigropileus'') is resident up to about in the Western Ghats of western India and the northern and central parts of the Western Ghats. Some populations migrate further south in winter. The male is brownish slate-grey with a dark cap, and the female is mid-brown, paler below. p222–228 It is small with a relatively broad yellow eye-ring. *Spence's blackbird (''T. s. spencei''), named for

William Spence William Guthrie Spence (7 August 1846 – 13 December 1926), was an Australian trade union leader and politician, played a leading role in the formation of both Australia's largest union, the Australian Workers' Union, and the Australian Labor ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

, is very similar to ''nigropileus'', but has a less distinct cap. It is resident in the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...

of India. It is of dubious validity, and is often included in ''nigropileus'' with which it is said to integrate in the Nallamala Hills. *Bourdillon's blackbird (''T. s. bourdilloni''), named for Thomas Fulton Bourdillon, Conservator of Forests in the then princely state of

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

, is a common resident of the hills above in southern Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It resembles ''simillimus'' and intergrades with it in the Palni Hills, but the male is uniform slate brown. *Kinnis' blackbird (''T. s. kinnisii''), named for

John Kinnis Dr John Kinnis (c. 1794- August 1852) was a medical superintendent to the British military forces in Ceylon in the nineteenth century, and wrote several papers for the ''Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal'' on, for example, elephantiasis, smal ...

, medical superintendent to the British military forces in Ceylon, is endemic to montane forests of

. Main breeding season is known to starts March to April and probably again from August to September as well.

References

External links

Birds described in 1839 Birds of India Birds of Sri Lanka Turdus {{Turdidae-stub