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PLATE 94: THRUSHES I
Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus wv
L: 24. Resembles extralimital Eurasian Blackbird; males told instantly by white breast-crescent
and pale fringes to wing feathers, which give ‘frosty-winged’ appearance in flight. Subspecies
amicorum recorded (breeds E Turkey, Iran, Caucasus); striking, with much more extensive white in
wings. Female dark brown with obscure buffish breast-crescent (virtually absent in first-winter
females), pale fringes to wing feathers and to feathers of underparts, giving scaly appearance.
Often shy but will also sit prominently in open. Voice Song highly variable, normally 3–4 fluty notes,
often followed by twittering. Most common call is a loud, hard scolding tek-tek-tek, with a soft shrill
chatter in flight. Habitat Mountains with alpine meadows, at upper limit of open forest. In winter/
passage any area with trees or bushes; rocky hills, wadis. Note Partial migrant; winter hatched;
vagrant Gulf States, except Saudi Arabia where rare as hatched.Eyebrowed Thrush Turdus obscurus V
L: 19. Small thrush, lacking spots or streaks on breast and belly. Male has white supercilium,
black loral streak, grey head, neck, throat and upper breast, pale rufous lower breast and flanks;
female and first-autumn birds have olive-brown head, supercilium and loral streak of male, some
dark streaks on whitish throat, ochre-yellowish lower breast and flanks; underwing-coverts pale
grey-brown; belly white. Small whitish spots on tips of outer tail feathers in adult hard to see;
first-autumn birds have white-tipped greater coverts. Flight powerful and straight, often darting
low over canopy. Generally shy. Voice Call a thin, drawn-out zeeip; also a hard dackke-dsjak, psiiie.
Habitat Wooded areas or open country with trees and bushes. Note Vagrant Oman, UAE.Black-throated Thrush Turdus atrogularis wv
L: 23. Slightly smaller than Ring Ouzel. Adult male with clear-cut black bib, sharply defined from
whitish underparts; in female white throat streaked blackish but lower border of black breast
clear-cut, upperparts browner. First-autumn male recalls adult but bib slightly pale-mottled; first-
autumn female has densely streaked upper breast with diffusely streaked flanks and sometimes
parts of belly; short whitish eyebrow (unlike immature Dusky Thrush). Underwing-coverts rusty, tail
grey-brown above. Fairly shy. Voice Various calls include a quiet chork-chork, a quiet sip and squeaky
tscheeik. Habitat Winters in open country with trees, grassy areas, parkland. Note Winter hatched,
but irregular or rare; vagrant Qatar, Yemen. [Alt: Dark-throated Thrush]Red-throated Thrush Turdus ruficollis V
L: 23. Adult male as Black-throated Thrush but with red-brown bib. First-winter male shows
bright orange-brown bib. Female and immature separable from Black-throated by rusty-rufous
tail, at least on outer feathers. First-winter female may also show slight rusty-buff on sides of
streaked upper breast. Hybridisation with Black-throated Thrush can occur. Voice As Black-throated
Thrush. Habitat Trees or scrub; cultivation, gardens. Note Vagrant Iran, Oman, Qatar.Dusky Thrush Turdus eunomus V
L: 24. Size of extralimital Eurasian Blackbird. Upperparts dark olive-brown, the closed wings having
a rufous panel (except first-autumn female); bold white supercilium, black lores and patch on
ear-coverts, white throat and lower ear-coverts, and 1–2 narrow, boldly black-flecked breast-
bands, spots or flecks extending boldly along flanks; in female and first-autumn birds white
throat sometimes streaked darker, breast-bands less bold and upperparts less dark; tail dark
brown; underwing-coverts pale rufous-brown. Base of bill bright yellow. Voice Flight calls include a
drawn-out srrii-i and a chattering kwae-waeg or tjshah-tjshah. Habitat Open woodland or parkland.
Note Vagrant Kuwait, Oman, UAE.