Whistling thrush
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The whistling thrushes comprise a genus Myophonus of the thrush family Turdidae.
They are all medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds. They are all brightly coloured species found in India and southeast Asia. The male is usually blue, and the females are either similar to the male or brown.
The brighter blue patches found on the shoulders and sometimes the head, of whistling thrushes, uniquely for a passerine, reflect strongly in the ultraviolet.
Many of the species are confined to single islands or countries.
Species:
- Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush, Myophonus blighi, found on Sri Lanka
- Shiny Whistling Thrush, Myophonus melanurus, Sumatra
- Chestnut-winged Whistling-thrush, Myophonus castaneus, Sumatra
- Javan Whistling-thrush Myophonus glaucinus, Java
- Bornean Whistling-thrush Myophonus borneensis, Borneo
- Malayan Whistling Thrush, Myophonus robinsoni, peninsular Malaysia
- Malabar Whistling Thrush, Myophonus horsfieldii, peninsular India
- Taiwan Whistling Thrush, Myophonus insularis, Taiwan
- Blue Whistling Thrush, Myophonus caeruleus, from Central Asia east to China and south to the Sundas
Javan, Bornean and Chestnut-winged were formerly lumped as Sunda Whistling Thrush, but split by Collar (2004).
[edit] References
- Thrushes by Clement and Hathaway, ISBN 0-7136-3940-7
- Collar, N. J. (2004) Species limits in some Indonesian thrushes Forktail 20:71-87
