The spot-winged thrush, (''Geokichla spiloptera''), is an Asian thrush, a group within the large thrush family Turdidae. It is an

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 ...

resident breeder in

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 ...

. This uncommon species breeds in hill rainforests, and to a lesser extent in drier woodlands, at altitudes between 500 and 2000 m. The wintering areas are similar but include less well-wooded areas, and are generally at 750 to 1500 m altitude. The spot-winged thrush is generally solitary and can be quite secretive, especially in the dense undergrowth and

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

clumps it favours. Spot-winged thrushes are

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutri ...

, but eat far more

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s than fruit. They feed on the ground. Adults of this medium-sized thrush, which measures in total length and weighs are light brown above with a double wing bar of white spots. The pale face has two dark bars. The underparts are white with heavy spotting. The bill is black and legs are yellow. The song is a rich and varied whistling. Young birds have buff streaking on the upperparts, and the face and the underparts are light brown with heavy streaking. The loose cup nests are lined with vegetation and placed in a tree fork. 2-3 buff or bluish-green eggs are laid. This species raises two broods each year.

In culture

, this bird is known as ''Pulli Wal Awichchiya'' in the

Sinhala language Sinhala ( ; , ''siṁhala'', ), sometimes called Sinhalese (), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka, who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 milli ...

Gallery

File:Spot-winged Thrush (5320522326).jpg, A spot-winged thrush in the bush File:ZootheraSpilopteraLegge.jpg, An illustration by Keulemans (1878)

References

;Citations ;Sources * ''Birds of India'' by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, * ''Thrushes'' by Clement and Hathaway, {{Taxonbar, from=Q2230174

spot-winged thrush The spot-winged thrush, (''Geokichla spiloptera''), is an Asian thrush, a group within the large thrush family Turdidae. It is an endemic resident breeder in Sri Lanka. This uncommon species breeds in hill rainforests, and to a lesser extent ...

Endemic birds of Sri Lanka