The slaty-backed nightingale-thrush (''Catharus fuscater'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

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

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, Colombia, Costa Rica,

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

. Widespread but shy and difficult to see, this species inhabits dense thickets and understory of subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucia ...

s. Measuring , the slaty-backed nightingale-thrush has a dark grey back and head, medium grey throat and belly, and light grey belly. These are contrasted by bright orange legs, bill, and eye ring. The iris is light-coloured, which is distinctive amongst similar nightingale-thrushes. The similar

sooty thrush The sooty thrush (''Turdus nigrescens'') is a large thrush endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama. It was formerly known as the sooty robin. This is an abundant bird of open areas and oak forest edge normally above 2200 m alti ...

is much larger, lacks the whitish belly, and does not overlap the slaty-backed nightingale-thrush's range.

References

External links

Audio samples of Slaty-backed Nightingale-thrush songs
a
naturesongs.com
* * * * slaty-backed nightingale-thrush Birds of the Talamancan montane forests Birds of the Northern Andes slaty-backed nightingale-thrush Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Turdidae-stub