Ethiopian thrush
| Ethiopian thrush | |
|---|---|
| |
| In Sululta, Ethiopia | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Turdidae |
| Genus: | Turdus |
| Species: | T. simensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Turdus simensis (Rüppell, 1837)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Psophocichla simensis | |
The Ethiopian thrush (Turdus simensis) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found primarily in Ethiopia, and also locally in Eritrea.[1] It is a medium-sized thrush 20–22 cm long, with a brown back, two vertical dark brown bars on the face, a spotted breast and belly, and (for a thrush) an unusually short tail. Compared to the closely related groundscraper thrush (T. litsitsirupa) from further south in Africa, it is browner, less grey-coloured above, and has a less marked (though still obvious) face pattern.[2][3]
Taxonomy
[edit]The Ethiopian thrush was formally described in 1837 by the German naturalist Eduard Rüppell from a specimen collected in northern Ethiopia. He used the scientific name Merula (Turdus) simensis.[4][5] The specific epithet is from the type locality, the Simien Mountains.[6]
This thrush was formerly often considered a subspecies of the groundscraper thrush.[7][8] These two species, each other's closest relatives, are treated in a separate genus Psophocichla by some authors.[2][1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c BirdLife International (2024). "Psophocichla simensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2024.
- ^ a b Hoyo, Josep del (2020). All the Birds of the World. Barcelona: Lynx edicions. p. 686. ISBN 978-84-16728-37-4.
- ^ Clement, Peter; Hathway, Ren (2000-11-30). Thrushes. London: A&C Black. p. 88, 325–326. ISBN 0-7136-3940-7.
- ^ Rüppell, Eduard (1835). Neue Wirbelthiere zu der Fauna von Abyssinien gehörig (in German). Vol. Vögel. Frankfurt am Main: S. Schmerber. p. 81, Plate 29, Fig. 1. The volume is dated 1835 on the title page but it was published in sections and the section containing page 81 was published in 1837. See: Dickinson, E.C.; Overstreet, L.K.; Dowsett, R.J.; Bruce, M.D. (2011). Priority! The Dating of Scientific Names in Ornithology: a Directory to the literature and its reviewers. Northampton, UK: Aves Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-9568611-1-5.
- ^ Mayr, Ernst; Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, eds. (1964). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 10. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 185.
- ^ Jobling, James A. "simensis". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2023). "Thrushes". IOC World Bird List Version 13.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ Kirwan, R.B.; Collar, N.; del Hoyo, J.; Boesman, P.F.D. (2022). Keeney, B.K. (ed.). "Ethiopian Thrush (Turdus simensis), version 1.0". Birds of the World. Ithaca, NY, USA: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi:10.2173/bow.grothr2.01.
