The Comoro thrush (''Turdus bewsheri'') is a species of
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
in the family
Turdidae
The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flyca ...
. It is found in the
Comoros Islands
The Comoro Islands are a group of volcanic islands in the Mozambique Channel, an arm of the Indian Ocean lying between Madagascar and the African mainland. Three of the islands form the Union of the Comoros, a sovereign nation, while Mayotte be ...
in the south western
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
.
Description
The Comoro thrush is a brown bird with olive tinged upperparts, slightly more rufous on the tail and wings. The underparts are whitish except for brown flanks and brown scaling on the breast and belly, central belly and undertail coverts are white. The females are browner than the males but otherwise similar, juveniles are more rufous. The length is .
Voice
The song is a typically thrush-like series of melodious, rich notes which varies between islands. Alarm call is a sharp "''twit''" and there is a soft contact call.
[
]
Distribution and subspecies
There are three recognised subspecies, each endemic to a single island. They are:
Habitat
Comoro thrush occurs in evergreen primary forest and forest edge from sea level to , except for the subspecies ''T.B. comorensis'' which occurs on Mount Karthala
Mount Karthala or Karthola ( ''Al Qirṭālah'') is an active volcano and the highest point of the Comoros at above sea level. It is the southernmost and larger of the two shield volcanoes forming Grande Comore island, the largest island in the ...
[ above this altitude as no forests exist lower than this.][
]
Habits
The Comoro thrush normally forages low down in the understorey or on the ground, looking fore spiders, grasshoppers, bugs, molluscs and some fruit and seeds. Will go higher into the canopy to feed on fruit.epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...
s or along a horizontal branch. the normal clutch is 2 eggs.[
]
Conservation
The Comoro thrush is classified as Near threatened
A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...
by the IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...
and the main threat is habitat loss through forest degradation due to clearance by subsistence farmers and firewood cutting.[
]
References
External links
recordings at Xeno-Canto
{{Taxonbar, from=Q868591
Comoro thrush
Endemic birds of the Comoros
Comoro thrush
Taxa named by Edward Newton
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot