Taiwan Thrush Turdus niveiceps Scientific name definitions

23 cm; c. 60 g. Distinctive thrush exhibiting strong sexual plumage dimorphism. Male has white hood down to upper breast, contrasting strongly with all-black to dark blackish-brown upperparts, wings and tail; black extends from lower hindneck across breast , shading to rufous-orange on belly and flanks; vent white with broad black longitudinal stripes; iris black; bill yellow; legs dull yellow. Female has crown and head-sides olive-brown, prominent buff postocular supercilium, buff-speckled cheeks, buff submoustachial area and throat, with dark-stippled malar and throat streaks; upperparts dark olive-brown, wings and tail darker, more blackish; underparts fairly uniform dull orange-brown; bill yellowish horn with greyish tip. Juvenile resembles female, but is duller and browner, with buffish shaft-streaks above, blackish feather tips on duller brownish-orange underparts.

Taiwan.

Little information. Diet mainly insects and other small invertebrates, including spiders, worms, small molluscs and the like; also seeds, berries and small fruits. Forages both in trees and bushes and on ground; generally shy and elusive. Sometimes gathers in fruiting trees. Generally solitary or in pairs, but in winter small groups often forage on ground in company of other thrush species.

Song, often delivered from prominent perch in forest canopy, a short series of high-pitched melodious whistles and lower-pitched flute-like notes, starting slowly and increasing in speed. Calls include, among others, short “chook” and “chak”, in flight a high-pitched “siiii”, in alarm a series of loud staccato chattering notes; all calls very similar to those of T. mandarinus (both species are vocally very like T. merula).

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Restricted-range species: confined to the Taiwan EBA. This species, endemic to montane regions of Taiwan, appears to be generally uncommon to rare, although it is normally rather elusive. Its population was estimated to hold fewer than 10,000 breeding pairs in first decade of 21st century (2 Brazil, M. (2009). Field Guide to the Birds of East Asia: Eastern China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Eastern Russia. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), or fewer than 20,000 mature individuals. Its numbers are suspected to be declining as a consequence of ongoing habitat destruction and degradation, but the decline appears not to be sufficiently rapid to give cause for immediate concern.