White's Thrush is a large, golden-brown thrush covered in black crescent-shaped scales, best known for its eerie, drawn-out whistle at night. It breeds in the forests of northeastern Asia, including Korea and Japan, and winters in Southeast Asia. It isn't a regular bird in the US; it has turned up in North America only as a rare accidental stray.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 11–12 in (27–31 cm) long. Golden-brown above and whitish below, with dense black scaling all over. In flight, a bold black-and-white band shows across the underwing. Males and females look alike.
- Voice
- A loud, far-carrying, mechanical-sounding whistle about one second long, repeated after pauses of 5–10 seconds, mostly sung at night or on gloomy days.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Forests
- Range
- Breeds in eastern Russia, northeastern China, Korea, and Japan; northern birds winter in Southeast Asia and the Philippines. A very rare stray to western Europe. In North America it is listed only as an accidental or casual visitor, so it isn't a bird you can expect to see in the US.
- Preferred conditions
- Breeds in damp forests, including coniferous taiga, and searches the leaf litter on the forest floor for earthworms.
Behavior
- Diet
- Mostly earthworms and insects picked from the forest floor; it also eats berries in winter.
Life cycle
- Nest
- A cup of moss and twigs placed on a tree branch.
- Clutch size
- 3–5 eggs
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- It is named for Gilbert White, the 18th-century English naturalist famous for The Natural History of Selborne. Its species name aurea is Latin for "golden."
- In Japan, its ghostly night song was linked to the nue, a legendary monster.
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