Thrush (bird)

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Birds

iThrushes
Hermit Thrush
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Turdidae
Genera
Some 20, see text

The Thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively in the Old World.

They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs.

The taxonomic treatment of this large family has varied significantly in recent years. Traditionally it included the small Old World species, like the Nightingale and European Robin in the subfamily Saxicolini, ever so often either that group or the whole family is placed in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae.

This article follows Handbook of the Birds of the World with edits from Clement & Hathaway, Thrushes (2000), and retains the large thrushes in Turdidae.

• Family Turdidae
  • Genus Turdus: true thrushes (some 65 species, 1 recently extinct)
  • Genus Zoothera: Asian thrushes (some 35 species, 1 recently extinct)
  • Genus Catharus: typical American thrushes and nightingale-thrushes (12 species)
  • Genus Hylocichla : Wood Thrush
  • Genus Monticola: rock thrushes (13 species, includes Pseudocossyphus)
  • Genus Neocossyphus: flycatcher thrushes and "ant-thrushes" (4 species)
  • Genus Myophonus: whistling thrushes (9 species)
  • Genus Geomalia: Geomalia
  • Genus Cataponera: Sulawesi Thrush
  • Genus Nesocichla: Tristan Thrush or Starchy
  • Genus Cichlherminia: Forest Thrush
  • Genus Sialia: bluebirds (3 species)
  • Genus Myadestes: solitaires (10-11 living species, 2-3 recently extinct)
  • Genus Cichlopsis: Rufous-brown Solitaire
  • Genus Entomodestes: solitaires (2 species)
  • Genus Platycichla (2 species)
  • Genus Psophocichla : Groundscraper Thrush
  • Genus Chlamydochaera: Fruit-hunter
  • Genus Brachypteryx: shortwings (5 species)
  • Genus Heinrichia: Great Shortwing
  • Genus Alethe: alethes (5 species)

Probably a distinct family:

• Genus Chaetops: rock-jumpers (2 species)

For other species previously in Turdidae, see Muscicapidae and chats.