Birds of Mongolia

ID Adult male is only Mongolian thrush that is all-black with yellow bill. However, compare adult breeding Common Starling. Adult female and imm are dark brown with darker streaking and lack yellow bill, but overall dark coloration remains distinctive. Voice Song consists of very rich and mellow unhurried warbling phrases. Call is a low chuk-chuk-chuk, accelerating and rising in pitch and volume in alarm to an explosive chik-chik-chik-chink-chink. Also gives a thin, breathy seee in flight. Habitat Open forest and forest edges, as well as parks and garden in cities and towns. Behaviour Forages mainly on ground, feeding on small vertebrates as well as insects and fruits. Moves on ground in rapid bounds. Status Vagrant. Known from only two records: a partial carcass found in Davaany Zörlög, 10 km west of Ulaanbaatar, 10 September 1988 and a female photographed in Khovd city, Khovd province, 9 May 2007. [Alt: Eurasian Blackbird]

ID In all plumages, combination of broad white supercilium, dark streaking (vs. spotting) below, and dark rufous flanks is unique among Mongolian thrushes. Voice Song is highly variable, but typically begins with a few loud fluty notes and ends with high-pitched twittering. Flight call is a thin buzzy tzeee; alarm call a rattling chittick. Habitat Coniferous forest. Occurs in steppe on migration. Behaviour Shy and skulking when breeding. Gregarious and more likely to be seen in open steppe on migration, often in company of other thrushes. Status Apparently very rare breeding visitor in Darkhad and northern Hövsgöl mountain range, but nesting as yet unconfirmed. Probably a rare passage migrant in Bayantsagaan district, Töv province, and Choir district, Gobisumber province. No records exist outside breeding areas.

ID One of only two Mongolian thrushes with an evenly spotted (vs. streaked or scaly) breast. Distinguished from similarly spotted Mistle Thrush by its much smaller size; brownish (vs. greyish) upperparts; buffy wash on upper breast; and ‘arrowhead’ (vs. Mistle’s rounded) spots. In flight, distinguished from Redwing by rusty-buff underwing. Voice Song is a series of short, emphatic warbles and whistles, each repeated twice or more and interspersed with harsher sounds. Flight call is a barely noticeable zip; alarm call a louder chick. Habitat Nests at margins of coniferous and mixed taiga forest and in thick shrubbery; associated with fruiting trees and shrubs at lower elevation and in steppe post-breeding. Behaviour Feeds on ground. Takes all manner of invertebrates but is specialist predator of snails, striking them against a favourite stone (‘thrush’s anvil’) to break their shells. Status Very rare breeding visitor in valleys of Tes and Torkhilog Rivers in Northern Uvs Depression. Very rare passage migrant through Great Lakes Depression and southern Hövsgöl and Khangai ranges; presumably present late April to early September.

ID Likely to be mistaken only for smaller, browner Song Thrush, which see for further distinctions. Note white corners on tip of tail in flight. Voice Song is a mellow, fluty whistle with burred notes similar to that of Common Blackbird, but more monotonous. Call is a hard rattling chatter given in flight and alarm. Habitat Open montane woodland with scattered large trees; occurs in steppe and desert on migration. Behaviour Often feeds in open, though rather shy. Aggressively territorial when breeding; somewhat gregarious when not. Status Very rare and local breeding visitor in river valleys of the Mongol-Altai mountain range. Recorded as rare passage migrant in Darkhad Depression, Hövsgöl province, Khangai mountain range and Bulgan River valley in Baruunkhurai Depression, as well as Mongol-Altai range; presumably late April to early September.

ID Large size, with notably long tail and bill and ‘pot-bellied’ look, together with heavy black scaling above and below, make confusion with other species unlikely. However, see Siberian Thrush for distinction from other scaly species. Sexes similar. Voice Distinctive song consists of haunting, melancholic, widely spaced, single-note whistles that fade away gradually. Call is a thin, whistled tsi. Habitat Nests in dense montane coniferous and mixed forest with thick, shrubby understorey. Occurs in rocky and bushy steppe and desert on migration. Behaviour Feeds on ground, walking with distinctive ‘sneaking’ stride rather than hopping. Generally shy, preferring to keep to dense cover, though typically sings from prominent high perches. Status Rare and local breeding visitor, known to nest only in extreme north at Torkholig River (northern Uvs Depression) and north of Lake Hövsgöl. Uncommon passage migrant throughout the rest of Mongolia, late April to mid-September (late September in the Gobi). Taxonomy Formerly treated as a subspecies of extralimital Scaly Thrush Z. dauma.

⇐

THRUSHES III

⇒