The red-legged thrush (''Turdus plumbeus'') 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 lightweig ...

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 fl ...

. Native to the Caribbean, it is found in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

, Cayman Islands,

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, Dominica, Hispaniola (the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

and Haiti) and

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. It formerly occurred on the

Swan Islands, Honduras The Swan Islands, or Islas Santanilla or Islas del Cisne, initially named Islas de las Pozas by Christopher Columbus in 1502, is a chain of three islands located in the northwestern Caribbean Sea, approximately off the coastline of Honduras, wi ...

, but was

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

there. In Puerto Rico, the red-legged thrush is known as ''zorzal de patas coloradas''.

Habitat

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 subtropical or tropical dry

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, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical 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 ...

s, and heavily degraded former forest. This species may be considered the Caribbean counterpart of the American robin, as it has similar habits, including being a common visitor to gardens and lawns.

Description

This large thrush measures and weighs approximately , depending on subspecies. It is mainly bluish-grey above and lighter-grey below with a white and black throat with a striped appearance. The legs, bill and eye ring are bright orange-red. There is notable variation in plumage between the subspecies.

Taxonomy

Six subspecies are described: * ''T. p. plumbeus'' –

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, 1758:

nominate Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In the ...

; found on the northern

islands. * ''T. p. schistaceus'' – ( Baird, S.F., 1864): found in eastern Cuba. Has beige-orange color on rear flanks and vent area. Bill is dark red with dusky tip. * ''T. p. rubripes'' –

Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch aristocrat, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. From his father, Jacob Temmin ...

, 1826: found in central and western Cuba and on Isla de la Juventud. Has more white in throat and malar area. It also has orange lower flanks, belly and vent. * ''T. p. coryi'' – (Sharpe, 1902): found on the Cayman Islands. Paler and with less orange on underparts than ''T. p. rubripes''. * ''T. p. ardosiaceus'' –

Vieillot Louis Pierre Vieillot (10 May 1748, Yvetot – 24 August 1830, Sotteville-lès-Rouen) was a French ornithologist. Vieillot is the author of the first scientific descriptions and Linnaean names of a number of birds, including species he collect ...

, 1822: found on Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti) and Puerto Rico. Has darker underparts and less white in the undertail. * ''T. p. albiventris'' – Sclater, PL, 1889: found on Dominica. Has orange bill, feet and eye ring. The

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

considers ''T. p. rubripes'' and ''T. p. ardosiaceus'' to be their own species, as the western red-legged thrush and eastern red-legged thrush, respectively.

Gallery

Red-legged thrush (Turdus plumbeus rubripes) chest.JPG, ''T. p. rubripes''

Red-legged Thrush (Turdus plumbeus) RWD.jpg, ''T. p. ardosiaceus''

Turdus plumbeus in Dominica-a01a.jpg, ''T. p. albiventris''
Dominica

Diet

Its food is mostly fruits, but a third of its diet is animal matter: insects (caterpillars, beetles, ants, crickets, wasps), plus occasional snails, frogs, lizards and birds' eggs.

References

External links

Red-legged thrush Image
a
Animal Diversity Web
* * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q908489 red-legged thrush Endemic birds of the Caribbean Birds of the Dominican Republic Birds of Dominica Birds of Haiti Birds of Cuba Birds of Puerto Rico Birds of the Bahamas Birds of the Cayman Islands Birds of the Caribbean red-legged thrush red-legged thrush Taxonomy articles created by Polbot