Turdus feae

Grey-sided Thrush is a medium-sized bird of the family Thrushidae and the genus Thrush, with no subspecies.

The lower body of the Brown-headed Thrush and the similar species White-browed Thrush (Eyebrowed Thrush) is orange-brown, and the male bird's head and neck are grayer; the White-bellied Thrush (Turdus pallidus) has no white eyebrow pattern, and the outer tail feathers have a wide white end spot. The difference is very obvious and will not be confused in the wild.

The brown-headed thrush mainly inhabits mountain forests at an altitude of 1500-2000 meters, especially in dark and humid coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests and forest edges. It moves alone or in pairs. It is timid and often hides in the bushes and trees on the banks of streams. It frequently flies back and forth or up and down between branches, flies quickly, and each flight distance is short. It does not fly long distances. During the summer breeding period, it is common to stand on the treetops or branches of the shrubs and sing. The sound is short, loud, pleasant and full of vibrato.

The brown-headed thrush is only known to breed in Dongling, Hebei, China and Xishan, Beijing. It migrates to the breeding grounds in Xishan, Beijing in early May every year, and migrates from the breeding grounds in China in late September to fly to eastern India, Myanmar and northern Thailand for wintering.

The brown-headed thrush mainly feeds on various insects and insect larvae, and also eats plant fruits and seeds.

According to Cai Qikan's observation (1988), the breeding season of the brown-headed thrush in Beijing is from May to July. It was found to arrive at the breeding area as early as early May. Most of the male birds arrived first, singing and courting on the treetops in the nesting area, and soon they formed pairs, chasing and playing with each other in the bushes, and then entered the busy nesting period. At this time, the male bird rarely sings. It participates in nesting activities with the female bird, frequently shuttling between low, dense bushes, grass and mountain streams and springs to collect nesting materials. Usually nests are built in alpine shrubs and dwarf curved forests at an altitude of 1700-1900 meters. The nests are mostly placed on the branches of broad-leaved trees such as mountain willows and six-leaved trees, 1-1.5 meters above the ground.

The nest is deep bowl-shaped and mainly composed of dead grass stems, fine roots, plant fibers, etc. Among them, 1/3 of the base of the nest and the base of the nest wall are made of dead grass, moss, dead leaf fragments and plant fibers mixed with mud and clay. After the mud dries, the nest will be firmly attached to the tree branches. The upper part of the nest is mainly woven with dead grass stems and fine fibrous roots, and the nest is padded with soft grass stems and fibers. The size of the nest is 13.5-16.0 cm × 16.5-17.0 cm in outer diameter, 7.5 cm × 8.0-8.5 cm in inner diameter, 9.0-9.5 cm in height, and 6.0 cm in depth. The nest faces the sun, but is often covered by dense branches and leaves, making it extremely hidden and difficult to find. Each nest takes 10-12 days to build, and eggs are laid after the nest is built. One nest is reproduced per year, and each nest lays 4 eggs. Fresh eggs are light blue-green in color, densely covered with rose brown, light gray brown and coffee-colored small spots and stains, especially densely at the blunt end, and some egg spots are small and sparse. The size of the eggs is 27.5-30.2 mm × 20.0-20.5 mm according to the measurement of 8 eggs, with an average of 28.75 mm × 20.1 mm. The male and female birds take turns to incubate the eggs, and the incubation period is 14 days. The chicks are late-maturing, and the male and female parents raise them together. The chicks stay in the nest for 12-14 days. The young birds can be seen leaving the nest in early July. When they just leave the nest, the young birds perch on the branches next to the nest, waiting for the parents to feed them. After 1-2 days, they can follow the parents to fly away from the nest area to find food.

The global population of the Brown-headed Thrush was estimated at 2,500-9,999 mature individuals based on a 2001 analysis of records by Bird Life International, which concluded that the total population of the species was likely small, less than 10,000 individuals, given the relatively small number of recent records and the apparently low population density. This estimate translates to 3,750-14,999 individuals. A 2009 estimate for the Chinese population was 100-10,000 breeding pairs and 50-1,000 migratory individuals.

The Brown-headed Thrush has been recorded in several protected areas throughout its breeding range, including the Pangquangou National Nature Reserve in Shanxi, China, the Laoling Nature Reserve in Hebei, and the Baihuashan Nature Reserve in Beijing. There are also protected areas for the Brown-headed Thrush in other parts of Hebei and Shanxi provinces. Several wintering sites are protected, including Natto Cave National Park (Mount Victoria, Myanmar), Doi Suthep National Park, Doi Inthanon National Park, Pa-Om-Pho National Park, Ong-Kwai Wildlife Sanctuary, Mae Ping National Park, Mae Ung National Park, Thung Yai Naresuan and Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries, Kaeng Krachan National Park (Thailand, W. Limparungpatthanakij in litt. 2016) and Nakai Nam Theun National Biodiversity Reserve (Laos).

In January 2022, staff of the Simianshan Forest Resources Service Center (referred to as "Simianshan Forest Service Center") accidentally discovered that the infrared camera captured close-up ecological photos of the rare and endangered wild animal Brown-headed Thrush while sorting out the infrared camera data set up in the Dawopu primeval forest.

On September 21, 2022, Lin Shengfu, a student at USTC, discovered the Brown-headed Thrush while bird watching on campus. This was also the first time that the Brown-headed Thrush was observed in Anhui Province.

Listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2016 ver 3.1) - Vulnerable (VU).

Listed in the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) - Appendix II.

It has been listed in the "Global Endangered Bird List" by Bird Life International and is protected as a world-class endangered bird.

It is included in the "National List of Terrestrial Wildlife with Important Economic and Scientific Research Value" issued by the State Forestry Administration of China on August 1, 2000.

Protect wild animals and eliminate game.

Maintaining ecological balance is everyone's responsibility!

Existence (breeding place): China (Dongling, Hebei, Baihua Mountain in western Beijing).
Existence (non-breeding place): Assam, India, Myanmar, Thailand.
Existence (residence place): Laos.

The forehead, top of the head, back neck, sides of the head and neck of the male bird are dark olive brown, the ear coverts are mixed with gray and white feather shaft lines, the eyes are dark brown, the eyebrow lines are white or white, short and narrow, and the upper and lower edges of the eye sockets are white. . The feathers on the back, shoulders, waist and tail are olive brown or grassy brown, and the tail is dark olive brown or dark grassy yellowish brown. The outer feathers are lighter, and sometimes thin dark brown horizontal spots are vaguely visible on the surface of the tail feathers. The wings are dark brown, and the wing coverts are olive brown with yellow tips. The outer feathers of the outer flight feathers are olive gray brown, and the inner flight feathers are olive brown. The center of the chin and throat is white or dirty white, the sides of the throat, chest and flanks are dark slate gray, the middle part of the abdomen, anal area and undertail coverts are white or