Yellow-billed thrush
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Yellow-billed thrush ( Turdoides affinis ) |
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| ( Jerdon , 1845) |
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The yellow- beaked thrush ( Turdoides affinis ) is a species of bird from the jay family (Leiothrichidae), whose representatives were previously counted among the timalia . It is native to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka .
description
With a body length of 23 cm , the yellow-billed thrush is the size of a starling and weighs 63 g. Compared to other thrush species, it is medium-sized and has a very light head color. The iris is grayish white to light blue. Legs, feet and beak are yellow. The breast plumage looks a bit scaled, the folded wing shows a gray field. The tail is lighter gray-brown at the base, dark in the rear. The genders do not differ externally. Young birds are less noticeably scaled than adult birds.
In adult birds of the nominate form , the gray-beige of the skull extends below the eye and ends in the light gray of the neck. The ear covers are light gray-brown with a yellowish beige tinge. The chin, throat and chest are dull brown with light brown seams that form a scale pattern. The long, whitish lines on the lower breast continue on the beige-brown feathers of the front abdomen and the flanks; the rest of the underside is lighter beige-brown and unpatterned. The back and shoulder feathers are streaky brown-gray. The rump is colored light brownish gray. The upper wing is matt gray-brown with light gray hems on the wing feathers. The light gray-brown control feathers are dark brown with somewhat lighter banding on the apical third.
voice
This social species is very vocal, although the vocal expressions are sharper and more melodic than the jungle thrush . A high-pitched, ringing chirping can often be heard from excited troops, varying in pitch and volume, rising and falling. Different, mostly very high-pitched noises can be heard from individual birds, such as a high-pitched, whirring twittering with accentuated individual sounds. The alarm call is described as kiek , which is often followed by a deeper, soft and repeated kürr if the danger persists. A high-pitched loud whistle is uttered when fighting or hating . Birds separated from the troop emit a chirping kikikiki or, if threatened, a loud howl. In troops searching for food, a short, deep ke acts as a contact call, which is lined up in a kekeke when the troop leaves .
Distribution and existence
The distribution of the yellow-billed thrush extends from southern Maharashtra and southeastern Madhya Pradesh southward across the Indian peninsula and also includes Rameswaram and Sri Lanka. The species is not threatened. In India it is local, in Sri Lanka it is common almost everywhere - it is only absent there at higher altitudes.
Geographic variation
Two subspecies are recognized. At T. a. taprobanus , the plumage on the head and upper side has a darker gray wash than in the nominate form. The feathers on the chin, throat, and chest are light brown and gray so the scaly pattern is less noticeable.
- T. a. affinis ( Jerdon , 1845) - southern India (with Rameswaram)
- T. a. taprobanus Ripley , 1958 - Sri Lanka
Way of life
The yellow-billed thrush lives in light forests and secondary vegetation, dry bushes (especially if they consist of convertible florets ), cultivated land, village settlements, orchards and city gardens as well as other inner-city areas. In contrast to the similar jungle thrush, the species occurs in drier, lighter areas. In many places, however, both can be found in the same living space. The height distribution extends up to 300 m, on the mainland more rarely up to 1000 m. In Sri Lanka the species is sometimes found at altitudes of 1700 m or, exceptionally, 2100 m.
The diet consists mainly of insects such as beetles , grasshoppers , cicadas , caterpillars, termites and spiders . In addition, there are wild figs , fruits of Ziziphus and Lantana , grain, nectar and waste. Flagellar spiders and lizards are also rarely eaten. The food is mainly searched for on the ground, but occasionally fishing flights are also undertaken. Often branches and leaves are also read, with the birds sometimes hanging over their heads. The foraging takes place in troops, which sometimes socialize with other thrush species.
Broods occur all year round - in India but mainly from March to November, in the dry plains of Sri Lanka from November to March. The species lives in small groups of 3 to 14 individuals that roam a territory of 5.3 to 9.3 hectares and sometimes support each other in the breeding business. The nest is a loose bowl made of small twigs, roots, dry grass, green plants, leaves and sometimes newspaper. It is lined with fine grass, stalks of fern or roots and stands between 1.2 and 6 m high in thorn bushes, hedges or small trees. Both partners participate in the construction. The clutch consists of 2–5, but in most cases 3–4 dark greenish blue eggs and is incubated for 14–17 days. The nestlings are fed by both parents and fly out after about two weeks. Then they are fed by both the parents and other members of the squad.
The species is regularly host to the Jacobin Cuckoo ( Clamator jacobinus ).
literature
- Nigel Collar, Craig Robson: Yellow-billed Babbler (Turdoides affinis). In: Josep del Hoyo , Andrew Elliott, David Christie: Handbook of the Birds of the World . Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions 2007 (Revision 2013), p. 221.
Individual evidence
- ↑ IOC World Bird List ( Memento of the original from April 15, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Version 3.4
- ↑ Alice Cibois: Mitochondrial DNA Phylogeny of Babblers (Timalidae) , The Auk 120 (1), 2003, pp. 35-54
Web links
- Turdoides affinis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2012. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2012. Accessed August 24, 2013.
- Photos of Turdoides affinis in the Oriental Bird Club image database , accessed on August 24, 2013
- xeno-canto: Sound recordings - Yellow-billed Babbler ( Turdoides affinis ) , accessed August 15, 2013