Oberländer's Ground-Thrush Geokichla oberlaenderi Scientific name definitions

19–20 cm; 41–48 g. Head rufous-brown, with broken white eyering and blackish subocular smudge; darkish olive-rufous upperparts, with darker wing-coverts, and two white-spotted wingbars; dull rufous underparts, shading to whitish from belly to undertail-coverts; bill blackish; legs fleshy-whitish. Sexes similar. Juvenile has darker crown, with dark subocular and auricular smudges, narrow dark submoustachial, pale dull orange breast and flanks with heavy blackish mottling, rest of underparts white.

Primary lowland and transitional forest, 700–1300 m in north of range, 1080–1420 m in south, and reaching 1850 m in Bwindi and Mgahinga Forests, Uganda. In Bwindi it prefers dense forest types, close to rivers and at elevations of 1500–1800 m (1 Gottschalk, T.K. and Pomeroy, D. (2010). Habitat preferences and status of an elusive forest species: the Oberlander's Ground-Thrush Zoothera oberlaenderi in Uganda. Ostrich. 81(2): 139–144. Close ). In Bwamba Forest, Uganda, it inhabits (or inhabited) tall stands of ironwood Cynometra alexandri with fairly open floor, avoiding areas with dense undergrowth and luxuriant edges. At Ituri Forest, DRCongo, it is apparently restricted to “monodominant” forest, not being recorded from mixed-species or secondary forest (2 Plumptre, A. J. and N. Mutungire (1996). The effects of disturbance from shifting cultivation on the understorey bird community in the Ituri Forest, Zaire. Unpublished report to ODA. Close ).

Song a rambling series of endlessly varied phrases of 2–12 sweet, fluty, mellow whistles , tone and quality recalling Turdus merula and race tanganjicae of G. piaggiae. Call unreported.

Nest found in May–Jun and breeding-condition bird in Jul in Uganda, and fledglings seen in Mar and Sept in DRCongo; probably breeds during rains and at end of dry season. Nest was of dry grasses, strips of vegetation and plant fibres. Another nest found on 1 March 2007 in Uganda was in a Carapa gradiflora tree, 5 m above the ground, made mainly of liverwort (Plagiochila) with a few fern stems; it contained 3 recently hatched chicks (3 Gottschalk, T.K. and Ampeire, S. (2008). A nest record of Oberländer’s Ground Thrush Zoothera oberlaenderi. Bulletin of the African Bird Club. 15(2): 250–252. Close ). No other information.

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Eastern Zaïre Lowlands EBA. Known only from three areas in DRCongo (Ituri Forest, Semliki Valley and Itombwe Mts) and two in Uganda (Semliki/Bwamba Forest and Bwindi/Impenetrable Forest). Sensitive to forest degradation and loss, which are extensive within its small range, mainly for farmland and timber extraction, especially in Itombwe and Bwamba. A survey in 2008 estimated only 36–45 males in Bwindi (1 Gottschalk, T.K. and Pomeroy, D. (2010). Habitat preferences and status of an elusive forest species: the Oberlander's Ground-Thrush Zoothera oberlaenderi in Uganda. Ostrich. 81(2): 139–144. Close ). May no longer exist in Bwamba owing to destruction of habitat there, and habitat loss at Beni and Kamituga (Ituri), in DRCongo, is also a concern.