True thrush

True thrushes
Male common blackbird
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
Genus: Turdus
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

Some 65, and see text.

True thrushes are medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus Turdus of the thrush family, Thrush. The genus name Turdus is Latin for "thrush".[1]

The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, with species in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Several species have also colonised some oceanic islands, and two species have been introduced to New Zealand. Several species are migratory.

While some species are often split out of Turdus, the two small thrushes formerly separated in Platycichla by many authors have been restored to the present genus in recent years.

List of species

Redwing (Turdus iliacus) in Iceland

References

  1. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 293. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.

Further reading

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