Tickell's thrush

Not to be confused with unicolored thrush.

Tickell's thrush (Turdus unicolor) is a passerine bird in the thrush family Turdidae. It is common in open forest in the Himalayas, and migrates seasonally into peninsular India, Nepal and rarely to Bangladesh.

Tickell's thrush
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. unicolor
Binomial name
Turdus unicolor Tickell, 1833

The name commemorates the British ornithologist Samuel Tickell who collected in India and Burma.^[2]

Characteristics

Males of the Tickell's thrush have uniform blue-grey upperparts, a whitish belly and vent. Adults have yellow beak and legs while it may be darker in juveniles. There is a yellow eye-ring which is thinner and fainter than the Indian black bird which is usually bigger in size. Females and young birds have browner upperparts.^[3]

Behaviour and ecology

Tickell's thrush builds nests from April to June using mostly dry grass.^[4]

Distribution and habitat

A Tickell's thrush male at Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary

A female Tickell's thrush at Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary

Populations move further south in India and Nepal in winter.^[5]