Bassian Thrush
Zoothera lunulata· 鸫科(1 photos)
Bassian Thrush
26-29 cm. Olive-brown to golden brown above, whitish below, with heavy overall pattern of dark half-moons. Singles, pairs, family parties: inconspicuous in leaf litter; stands motionless, ducks head, runs forward, rocks a little, jabs bill into soil; flies away low, showing black-and-white underwing-bar; slim white tail corners.
- Other name
- Ground, Mountain, Olive-tailed, Scaly or White's Thrush.
- Similar Species
- Russet-tailed Thrush.
- Voice
- wild, beautiful: two clear loud notes connected by upward slide, 'tlee-oo-whee'; quieter, sustained, song of many small notes, like Common Blackbird. Contact-note: thin, high-pitched 'seeet'.
- Habitat
- rainforests, forests, woodlands, coastal scrubs, pine plantations; in winter, sub-inland scrubs, riverine woodlands, secondary growth.
- Breeding
- Aug.-Dec.
- Nest
- large bowl of rootlets, bark strips, green moss, lichen; in fork, 2-10 m high.
- Eggs
- 2-3; stone to pale green, freckled red-brown.
- Range & Status
- coastal e. Aust.: from Tas., Bass Strait islands and (isolated population) Kangaroo I.-Mt Lofty Ras. (SA) to ne. Q. From c. Hunter R. (NSW) to n. Atherton Tableland (Q) mostly above 500-m in mountain rainforests. Isolated large race cuneata on Atherton Tableland (Q). Sedentary; disperses to more open lowlands in winter, inland to Murray Valley. Also PNG to se. Asia, Siberia, e. Europe.
- Distribution key to races
- 1. Zoothera lunulata cuneata 2. Zoothera lunulata lunulata 3. Zoothera lunulata halmaturina
