Red-legged thrush

The red-legged thrush (Turdus plumbeus) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. Native to the Caribbean, it is found in the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti) and Puerto Rico. It formerly occurred on the Swan Islands, Honduras, but was extirpated there.

Red-legged thrush
T. p. ardosiaceus in the Dominican Republic
nominate T. p. ardosiaceus in Grand Bahama
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Turdidae
Genus:	Turdus
Species:	T. plumbeus
Binomial name
Turdus plumbeus Linnaeus, 1758

In Puerto Rico, the red-legged thrush is known as zorzal de patas coloradas.

Taxonomy

The red-legged thrush was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under its current binomial name Turdus plumbeus.^[2] Linnaeus based his account of the "red leg'd thrush" that had been described and illustrated by the English naturalist Mark Catesby in his book The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands.^[3][4] The specific epithet is Latin meaning "leaden", "plumbeous" or "lead-coloured".^[5]

Six subspecies are recognised:^[6][7]

• T. p. plumbeus – Linnaeus, 1758: nominate; found on the northern Bahamas islands.
• T. p. schistaceus – (Baird, S.F., 1864): found in eastern Cuba. Has beige-orange color on rear flanks and vent area. Bill is dark red with dusky tip.
• T. p. rubripes – Temminck, 1826: found in central and western Cuba and on Isla de la Juventud. Has more white in throat and malar area. It also has orange lower flanks, belly and vent.
• T. p. coryi – (Sharpe, 1902): found on the Cayman Islands. Paler and with less orange on underparts than T. p. rubripes.
• T. p. ardosiaceus – Vieillot, 1822: found on Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti) and Puerto Rico. Has darker underparts and less white in the undertail.
• T. p. albiventris – Sclater, PL, 1889: found on Dominica. Has orange bill, feet and eye ring.

The IUCN Red List considers T. p. rubripes and T. p. ardosiaceus to be their own species, as the western red-legged thrush and eastern red-legged thrush, respectively.^[8][9]

Description

This large thrush measures 27 cm (11 in)^[10] and weighs approximately 75 g (2.6 oz), depending on subspecies.^[6] It is mainly bluish-grey above and lighter-grey below with a white and black throat with a striped appearance. The legs, bill and eye ring are bright orange-red. There is notable variation in plumage between the subspecies.

Habitat

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and heavily degraded former forest. This species may be considered the Caribbean counterpart of the American robin, as it has similar habits, including being a common visitor to gardens and lawns.

External audio
Red-legged thrush call
Red-legged thrush call

Diet

Its food is mostly fruits, but a third of its diet is animal matter: insects (caterpillars, beetles, ants, crickets, wasps), plus occasional snails, frogs, lizards and birds' eggs.^[11]

Gallery

• 
  T. p. rubripes
  Cuba
• 
  T. p. ardosiaceus
  Puerto Rico
• 
  T. p. albiventris
  Dominica