Thrushes (Turdidae)
Island Thrush (Turdus poliocephalus) - HBW 10, p. 649
French: Merle des îles
German: Südseedrossel
Spanish: Zorzal Insular
Other common names: New Guinea Blackbird (papuensis); Goodenough Island Blackbird (canescens); Vinous-tinted Blackbird (xanthopus)
Taxonomy: Turdus poliocephalus Latham, 1801, Norfolk Island.
Taxonomy highly complex. Races group into four morphological types, but attempts to “tease out” taxa or groups as separate species largely frustrated by irregular distributions of taxa with allied characters. Highly distinctive Taiwanese race niveiceps, although clearly allied to present species, possibly best candidate for species status, being the only race with pronounced sexual dimorphism, and much the most N outlier. Proposed race biesenbachi (from Mount Papandajan, in W Java) considered not reliably distinguishable from fumidus. Two additional populations, as ye.. View all taxonomy...
Taxonomy: Turdus poliocephalus Latham, 1801, Norfolk Island.
Taxonomy highly complex. Races group into four morphological types, but attempts to “tease out” taxa or groups as separate species largely frustrated by irregular distributions of taxa with allied characters. Highly distinctive Taiwanese race niveiceps, although clearly allied to present species, possibly best candidate for species status, being the only race with pronounced sexual dimorphism, and much the most N outlier. Proposed race biesenbachi (from Mount Papandajan, in W Java) considered not reliably distinguishable from fumidus. Two additional populations, as yet undescribed, apparently exist in C & E Sulawesi. Races mareensis (Maré, in Loyalty Is) and vinitinctus (Lord Howe I) extinct. Forty-nine extant subspecies recognized.
Taxonomy highly complex. Races group into four morphological types, but attempts to “tease out” taxa or groups as separate species largely frustrated by irregular distributions of taxa with allied characters. Highly distinctive Taiwanese race niveiceps, although clearly allied to present species, possibly best candidate for species status, being the only race with pronounced sexual dimorphism, and much the most N outlier. Proposed race biesenbachi (from Mount Papandajan, in W Java) considered not reliably distinguishable from fumidus. Two additional populations, as yet undescribed, apparently exist in C & E Sulawesi. Races mareensis (Maré, in Loyalty Is) and vinitinctus (Lord Howe I) extinct. Forty-nine extant subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- loeseri Meyer de Schauensee, 1939 - N Sumatra.
- indrapurae Robinson & Kloss, 1916 - SC Sumatra.
- fumidus Statius Muller, 1844 - Mt Papandajan, Mt Pangrango and Mt Gedeh, in W Java.
- loeseri Meyer de Schauensee, 1939 - N Sumatra.
- indrapurae Robinson & Kloss, 1916 - SC Sumatra.
- fumidus Statius Muller, 1844 - Mt Papandajan, Mt Pangrango and Mt Gedeh, in W Java.
- erythropleurus Sharpe, 1887 - Christmas I, S of W Java.
- javanicus Horsfield, 1821 - mountains of C Java.
- stresemanni M. Bartels, Jr, 1938 - Mt Lawu, in EC Java.
- whiteheadi (Seebohm, 1893) - mountains of E Java.
- niveiceps (Hellmayr, 1919) - Taiwan.
- thomassoni (Seebohm, 1894) - N Philippines (N Luzon).
- mayonensis (Mearns, 1907) - S Luzon.
- mindorensis Ogilvie-Grant, 1896 - Mindoro (NC Philippines).
- nigrorum Ogilvie-Grant, 1896 - Negros (SC Philippines).
- malindangensis (Mearns, 1907) - Mt Malindang, in NW Mindanao (S Philippines).
- katanglad Salomonsen, 1953 - C Mindanao.
- kelleri (Mearns, 1905) - Mt Apo, in SE Mindanao.
- seebohmi (Sharpe, 1888) - N Borneo (mountains of Kinabalu, Trus Madi and Tambuyukon).
- hygroscopus Stresemann, 1931 - S Sulawesi.
- celebensis (Büttikofer, 1893) - SW Sulawesi.
- schlegelii P. L. Sclater, 1861 - W Timor.
- sterlingi Mayr, 1944 - Timor Leste (E Timor).
- deningeri Stresemann, 1912 - Seram.
- versteegi Junge, 1939 - mountains of W New Guinea.
- carbonarius Mayr & Gilliard, 1951 - mountains of EC New Guinea.
- keysseri Mayr, 1931 - mountains of Huon Peninsula, in NE New Guinea.
- papuensis (De Vis, 1890) - mountains of SE New Guinea.
- tolokiwae Diamond, 1989 - Tolokiwa I, in Bismarck Archipelago; reportedly also New Britain.
- beehleri Ripley, 1977 - New Ireland.
- heinrothi Rothschild & Hartert, 1924 - St Matthias.
- canescens (De Vis, 1894) - Goodenough I, in D’Entrecasteaux Archipelago.
- bougainvillei Mayr, 1941 - Bougainville I.
- kulambangrae Mayr, 1941 - Kolombangara I, in C Solomons.
- sladeni Cain & Galbraith, 1955 - Guadalcanal.
- rennellianus Mayr, 1931 - Rennell I, in S Solomons.
- vanikorensis Quoy & Gaimard, 1830 - Santa Cruz Is (Utupua, Vanikoro) and N Vanuatu (Espíritu Santo, Malo).
- placens Mayr, 1941 - Ureparapara and Vanua Lava, in Banks Group.
- whitneyi Mayr, 1941 - Gaua I, in Banks Group.
- malekulae Mayr, 1941 - Pentecost, Malekula and Ambrym, in Vanuatu.
- becki Mayr, 1941 - Paama, Lopevi, Epi and Emae, in Vanuatu.
- efatensis Mayr, 1941 - Efate and Nguna, in Vanuatu.
- albifrons (E. P. Ramsay, 1879) - Erromanga, in Vanuatu.
- pritzbueri E. L. Layard, 1878 - Tanna (in Vanuatu).
- xanthopus J. R. Forster, 1844 - New Caledonia (apparently surviving only on Yandé).
- poliocephalus Latham, 1801 - Norfolk I (probably extinct).
- layardi (Seebohm, 1891) - W Fiji (Viti Levu, Ovalau, Yasawa, Koro).
- ruficeps (E. P. Ramsay, 1876) - Kadavu, in S Fiji.
- vitiensis E. L. Layard, 1876 - Vanua Levu, in E Fiji.
- hades Mayr, 1941 - Gau, in E Fiji.
- tempesti E. L. Layard, 1876 - Taveuni, in E Fiji.
- samoensis Tristram, 1879 - Samoa (Savaii, Upolu).
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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A male and then a female feeding on fruits Locality Ta-hsueh-shan, Taiwan (ssp niveiceps)
James Jyh Haw Ting 6 years ago 30 sec 4.5 -
A male eating fruits Locality Ta-hsueh-shan, Taiwan (ssp niveiceps)
James Jyh Haw Ting 31 December 2007 5 years ago 26 sec 4.3 -
A bird gathering food in short grass Locality Kumul Lodge, Mount Hagen, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea (mainland), New Guinea (ssp carbonarius)
Keith Blomerley 17 August 2008 4 years ago 25 sec 4.2 -
A bird on the ground, foraging. Locality Rennell Island, Rennell and Bellona Province, Solomon Islands (ssp rennellianus)
Josep del Hoyo 1 October 2010 2 years ago 23 sec 3.2 -
A bird foraging on the forest floor. Locality Rennell Island, Rennell and Bellona Province, Solomon Islands (ssp rennellianus)
Josep del Hoyo 1 October 2010 2 years ago 33 sec 3.2 -
A bird foraging on an alpine meadow at 3200 m altitude. Locality Lake Habbema, West Papua (Indonesia), New Guinea (ssp versteegi)
Josep del Hoyo 17 July 2008 4 years ago 45 sec 3
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A juvenile at the feeding station.
Locality Kumul Lodge, Mount Hagen, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea (mainland), New Guinea (ssp T.p.carbonarius)
neil osborne 24 August 2010 12 weeks ago 3.8 -
Bird at feeding station
Locality Kumul Lodge, Mount Hagen, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea (mainland), New Guinea
mark sutton 12 August 2008 4 years ago 3.7 -
Island Thrush Turdus poliocephalus xanthopus caught with nets during a survey with Paris Museum of Natural History. Sub-species
Locality Yandé Island, North Province, New Caledonia (ssp xanthopus)
Julien Baudat-Franceschi 9 December 2009 42 weeks ago 3.6 -
Male, taken at Mt. An-ma forest road 23.5K, Taichung County.
Locality Taiwan
alder 4 March 2009 4 years ago 3.5 -
Bird at feeding station
Locality Kiunga, Papua New Guinea (mainland), New Guinea
mark sutton 12 August 2008 4 years ago 3 -
A bird on the ground.
Locality Lake Habbema, West Papua (Indonesia), New Guinea
Josep del Hoyo 17 July 2008 4 years ago 2.8
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A distant bird singing. Locality Des Voeux Peak, Taveuni, Fiji
(ssp tempesti)
Josep del Hoyo 25 August 2012 32 weeks ago 4 -
A bird singing from inside the forest. Locality Nausori Highlands, Viti Levu, Fiji
(ssp layardi)
Josep del Hoyo 21 August 2012 32 weeks ago 4 -
An individual calling in the forest. Locality Rennell Island, Rennell and Bellona Province, Solomon Islands
(ssp rennellianus)
Josep del Hoyo 1 October 2010 2 years ago 4 -
Bird singing from near tree top between fields Locality Mount Data National Park, Mountain Province, Luzon, Philippines
Desmond Allen 1 January 2006 3 years ago 3.5
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