Never fear Anthea, Bassian/Russet-tailed Thrushes are quite common up
my way, so I wouldn't mistake a Song Thrush for one. I have since
found an illustration of an immature Blackbird, which had much darker
underparts than the bird I saw.
It was the fact that it was structurally similar and in proximity to
the Blackbirds that had me wondering.
Regards, Laurie.
On Tuesday, July 10, 2007, at 01:19 PM, brian fleming wrote:
Bassian Thrushes occasionally turns up in Melbourne parks along the
Yarra. I've seen them at Banyule and in Ivanhoe, and i am prepared to
believe that they are possible at the Botanic Gardens. Song Thrush
are now quite rare after the long drought.
Song Thrush is almost the same size as Blackbird - maybe slightly
shorter - and very similar in general look. but it has much lighter
coloured bacl and heqd plumage. It matches the colour of dry ground,
while imature or female blackbird matches the colour of wet ground.
Song Thrush is seldom seen out in the open, usually under shrubs and
bushes except in dark cloudy conditions or twilight. Cream underneath
with dark streaks. Rather rufous underwing may be seen in flight.
Bassian Thrush likes shrubbery too but is quite a bit larger than
Blackbird or Song Thrush. Tends to hold its head more in line with
its back than the others. All feathers have a bold, scaly dark edge
on both brown back and white underparts.
Slater's first edition left Blackbird out altogether and now squeezes
it in at the bottom of a page - makes it hard to compare Zoothera and
Turdus thrushes.
Anthea Fleming
Peter Shute wrote:
I saw a Bassian Thrush on a BOCA outing in the Botanic Gardens a
couple
of weeks ago. So they are around, and if it looked like a Bassian
then
it could be a Bassian, although I have no idea how common they are
outside the gardens. Not very common in them, much less common
outside
them, I would guess.
Peter Shute
wrote on Monday, 9 July 2007 7:26
PM:
If it looked like a Bassian it was a Song Thrush. They do like to
fossick in gardens and on lawns and are known to follow gardeners
around looking for easy pickings. Immature blackbirds are still much
darker in colour, more like a female, than the buffish white with
distinct arrowhead streaks underneath of the Song Thrush.
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