The Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus) is a member of the thrush family Turdidae.
It breeds in dense coniferous forest and taiga eastwards from Siberia. It is strongly migratory, wintering south to southeast Asia and Indonesia. It is a rare vagrant to western Europe.
It nests in trees, laying 4-6 eggs in a neat nest. Migrating birds and wintering birds often form small flocks. It is omnivorous, eating a wide range of insects, earthworms and berries.
This is an attractive thrush, with a grey back and head, the latter having a black eyeline, bordered white above and below. The breast and flanks are orange, and the belly white. The sexes are fairly similar, but immatures have a browner back.
The male has a simple whistling song, similar to the related Mistle Thrush.
In 2007 an Eyebrowed Thrush was sighted at the Jerusalem Bird Observatory in Jerusalem, Israel. This is the second recorded sighting in Israel, the first was at Eilat, October 1996.
In 2011, an Eyebrowed Thrush was sighted in Australia, near Malanda in Queensland. This is possibly the first confirmed sighting of the species on the Australian mainland.
Famous quotes containing the word thrush:
“Sitting in that dusky wilderness, under that dark mountain, by the bright river which was full of reflected light, still I heard the wood thrush sing, as if no higher civilization could be attained. By this time the night was upon us.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)