The Ecuadorian thrush (Turdus maculirostris) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Ecuadorian thrush was originally described in 1884 as a subspecies of the black-billed thrush (Turdus ignobilis). It was later reassigned as a subspecies of the spectacled thrush (T. nudigenis) but in the early 2000s was recognized as a full species. The Ecuadorian thrush is monotypic.
Description
The Ecuadorian thrush is 21.5 to 23 cm (8.5 to 9.1 in) long and weighs 62 to 76 g (2.2 to 2.7 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have an olive-brown head with a faint yellow eye-ring. Their upperparts, wings, and tail are olive-brown. Their throat is white with dark streaks. Their breast and flanks are a paler olive-brown than their upperparts and their belly and vent are whitish. They have a dark iris, a dusky yellow bill, and olive-brownish legs and feet. Juveniles have thin buff streaks on their upperparts, wing bars of orangey spots, and dark brown mottling on their breast and flanks.
Distribution and habitat
The Ecuadorian thrush is found in western Ecuador from just south of the Colombian border south through the length of the country and into far northwestern Peru's Tumbes Department. In Ecuador it is found coastally and inland south to Santa Elena Province and beyond there into Peru only inland from the coast. In Ecuador it mostly ranges in elevation from sea level to 1,900 m (6,200 ft) and in Peru ranges between 400 and 750 m (1,300 and 2,500 ft). It inhabits a variety of somewhat open landscapes in the lowlands and subtropical zone. These include light forest and woodlands, clearings and edges of denser forest, and gardens near forest.
Behavior
The Ecuadorian thrush is described as "rather shy".
The Ecuadorian thrush is a year-round resident.
Little is known about the Ecuadorian thrush's diet or foraging behavior. It is known to forage mostly in trees.
