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 lightweig ...
s in the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
''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 flyca ...
. 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 ...
for "thrush". The term "
thrush
''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a secret ...
" 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, 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 clos ...
. Several species are
migratory.
While some species are often split out of ''Turdus'', the two small thrushes formerly separated in ''
Platycichla'' 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, ...
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 nom ...
''. 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 mistle thrush (''Turdus viscivorus'') is a bird common to much of Europe, temperate Asia and North Africa. It is a year-round resident in a large part of its range, but northern and eastern populations migrate south for the winter, often i ...
. 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 Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...
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 (as ''Turdus pectoralis'' or ''Turdus prasinus'')
*
Grey shrikethrush (as ''Turdus harmonicus'')
* †
South Island piopio (as ''Turdus crassirostus'')
*
Ethiopian oriole
The Ethiopian oriole (''Oriolus monacha'') is a species of bird in the family Oriolidae.
It is found in north-eastern Africa where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.
Taxonomy
The Ethiopian oriole was formally describe ...
(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 (as ''Turdus atriceps'')
*
Ruby-throated bulbul
The ruby-throated bulbul (''Rubigula dispar''), or yellow bulbul, is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found on Sumatra, Java, and Bali.
Taxonomy and systematics
The ruby-throated bulbul was originally described in the ge ...
(as ''Turdus dispar'')
*
Red-vented bulbul (as ''Turdus cafer'')
*
Sooty-headed bulbul
The sooty-headed bulbul (''Pycnonotus aurigaster'') is a species of songbird in the Bulbul family, Pycnonotidae.
It is found in south-eastern Asia.
Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Description
A medium-sized s ...
(as ''Turdus aurigaster'')
*
African red-eyed bulbul (as ''Turdus aurigaster'')
*
Cape bulbul (as ''Turdus capensis'')
*
Common bulbul (as ''Turdus barbatus'')
*
Egyptian bulbul (as ''Turdus Arsinoe'')
*
Orange-spotted bulbul
The orange-spotted bulbul (''Pycnonotus bimaculatus'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is endemic to Java, Bali and Sumatra.
It favors forest edges and open meadows in montane forests.
Taxonomy and systemati ...
(as ''Turdus bimaculatus'')
*
Yellow-vented bulbul (analis) (as ''Turdus analis'')
*
Sombre greenbul
The sombre greenbul (''Andropadus importunus'') is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is a resident breeder in coastal bush, evergreen forest and dry shrub land in eastern and southern Africa. It is the only member of the genu ...
(as ''Turdus importunus'')
*
Réunion bulbul
The Réunion bulbul (''Hypsipetes borbonicus'') is a species of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is endemic to Réunion.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Réunion bulbul was originally described in the genus ''Turdus''. Formerly, some author ...
(as ''Turdus Borbonicus'')
*
Mauritius bulbul
The Mauritius bulbul (''Hypsipetes olivaceus''), is a songbird belonging to the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is endemic to Mauritius.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Mauritius bulbul was the type species of the obsolete genus ''Ixocincla'', whic ...
(as ''Turdus atricilla'')
*
Malagasy bulbul (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 (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