True thrushes are medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorous
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 ...
s in 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'' of the wider thrush 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 ...
. The genus name ''Turdus'' is
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for "thrush". The term "
thrush" is used for many other birds of the family Turdidae as well as for a number of species belonging to several other families.
The genus has a
cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...
, with species in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Several species have also colonised some oceanic islands, and two species have been
introduced to New Zealand. Some New World species are called ''robins'', the most well known of which is the
American robin
The American robin (''Turdus migratorius'') is a migratory bird of the true thrush genus and Turdidae, the wider thrush family. It is named after the European robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closel ...
. Several species are
migratory.
While some species are often split out of ''Turdus'', the two small thrushes formerly separated in ''
Platycichla
''Platycichla'' is a small disputed genus of tropical South American thrushes. It contains just two species:
* Pale-eyed thrush, ''Platycichla (Turdus) leucops''
* Yellow-legged thrush, ''Platycichla (Turdus) flavipes''
These are medium-size ...
'' by many authors have been restored to the present genus in recent years.
Taxonomy and systematics
The genus ''Turdus'' was introduced by the Swedish naturalist
Carl 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 ...
in 1758 in the
tenth edition of his ''
Systema Naturae
' (originally in Latin written ' with the ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the system, now known as binomial nomen ...
''. The
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
was subsequently designated as the
mistle thrush. The name ''Turdus'' is the Latin word for a "thrush".
Current species
Eighty-eight extant
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
and one extinct species are recognized
*
Former species
Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus ''Turdus'':
*
Rufous whistler
The rufous whistler (''Pachycephala rufiventris'') is a species of whistler found in New Caledonia and Australia. Predominantly a reddish-brown and grey bird, it makes up for its subdued plumage with its song-making ability. Like many other memb ...
(as ''Turdus pectoralis'' or ''Turdus prasinus'')
*
Grey shrikethrush
The grey shrikethrush or grey shrike-thrush (''Colluricincla harmonica''), formerly commonly known as grey thrush, is a songbird of Australasia. It is moderately common to common in most parts of Australia, but absent from the driest of the inlan ...
(as ''Turdus harmonicus'')
* †
South Island piopio
The South Island piopio (''Turnagra capensis'') also known as the New Zealand thrush, was a passerine bird of the family Oriolidae.
Taxonomy and systematics
The South Island piopio was originally described in the genus ''Tanagra'' (a synony ...
(as ''Turdus crassirostus'')
*
Ethiopian oriole (as ''Turdus monacha'')
*
Restless flycatcher
The restless flycatcher (''Myiagra inquieta'') or restless myiagra is a passerine bird in the family Monarchidae; it is also known as the razor grinder or scissors grinder because of its distinctive call. It is a native of eastern and southern A ...
(as ''Turdus inquietus'')
*
Black-headed bulbul
The black-headed bulbul (''Brachypodius melanocephalos'') is a member of the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found in forests in south-eastern Asia.
Taxonomy and systematics
The black-headed bulbul was originally described in the genus ''T ...
(as ''Turdus atriceps'')
*
Ruby-throated bulbul (as ''Turdus dispar'')
*
Red-vented bulbul
The red-vented bulbul (''Pycnonotus cafer'') is a member of the bulbul family of passerines. It is a resident breeder across the Indian subcontinent, including Sri Lanka extending east to Burma and parts of Bhutan and Nepal. It has been introduc ...
(as ''Turdus cafer'')
*
Sooty-headed bulbul (as ''Turdus aurigaster'')
*
African red-eyed bulbul
The African red-eyed bulbul or black-fronted bulbul (''Pycnonotus nigricans'') is a species of songbird in the family Pycnonotidae.
It is found in south-western Africa.
Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland ...
(as ''Turdus aurigaster'')
*
Cape bulbul
The Cape bulbul (''Pycnonotus capensis'') is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is an endemic resident breeder in coastal bush, open forest, gardens and fynbos in western and southern South Africa. This species nests mainly in ...
(as ''Turdus capensis'')
*
Common bulbul
The common bulbul (''Pycnonotus barbatus'') is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found in north-eastern, northern, western and central Africa.
Taxonomy and systematics
The common bulbul was originally described in the genus ...
(as ''Turdus barbatus'')
*
Egyptian bulbul
The common bulbul (''Pycnonotus barbatus'') is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found in north-eastern, northern, western and central Africa.
Taxonomy and systematics
The common bulbul was originally described in the genus ...
(as ''Turdus Arsinoe'')
*
Orange-spotted bulbul (as ''Turdus bimaculatus'')
*
Yellow-vented bulbul (analis) (as ''Turdus analis'')
*
Sombre greenbul (as ''Turdus importunus'')
*
Réunion bulbul (as ''Turdus Borbonicus'')
*
Mauritius bulbul (as ''Turdus atricilla'')
*
Malagasy bulbul
The Malagasy bulbul (''Hypsipetes madagascariensis'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found on Madagascar and other regional islands in the south-western Indian Ocean.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Malagasy b ...
(as ''Turdus Madagascariensis'')
*
Black bulbul
The black bulbul (''Hypsipetes leucocephalus''), also known as the Himalayan black bulbul or Asian black bulbul, is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found primarily in the Himalayas, its range stretching from India eastwar ...
(as ''Turdus leucocephalus'')
*
Philippine bulbul
The Philippine bulbul (''Hypsipetes philippinus'') is a songbird species in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae.
It is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moi ...
(as ''Turdus philippinus'')
*
Brown-eared bulbul (as ''Turdus amaurotis'')
References
Further reading
*
External links
Videos, photos and sounds- The Internet Bird Collection
{{Taxonbar, from=Q115661
Turdidae
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus