stuart white wrote:
>
> Just a quick question, I assumed the Bassian Thrush in Australia was
> the
> same species as that in Asia, Pizzey and Knight also call it white's
> and
> Scaly thrush. The thailand version is called Scaly but in Europe it is
> called White's. The scientific name in Asia and Europe is zoothera
> dauma. Is
> the Australian version a different species?
> Regards
> stuart
>
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Hullo Stuart.
As no real expert has answered you yet, I'll do my best to explain.
Our Bassian Thrush was first described by Gould as Oreocinchla
lunulata - meaning 'mountain bird marked with little moons', according
to Cayley.
Later (dont know when) it was realised that it was a member of the
Old World thrush genus Zoothera. During an outbreak of species-lumping,
it was assumed that it was identical with the widespread Asian species
Z.dauma, called Scaly, Golden Mountain, Tiger or White's Thrush,
depending
where you were. Ours was a subspecies Z.dauma lunulata
The discovery that in the Atherton Ranges it co-existed with another
species, the Russet-tailed Thrush, Z. heinei, plus the work of the
DNA-smiths, led to the recognition that our Ground or Mountain Thrush
(as I still call it!) was really a good species - so back to Zoothera
lunulata. It was given the new English name Bassian Thrush, describing
its distribution.
You really have to work to keep up to date sometimes.
Asian field guides give pictures and descriptions of White's Thrush.
It appears among the rare Siberian vagrants in European Field Guides.
Anthea Fleming in Melbourne
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