Abyssinian Thrush vs Sooty Thrush: How to Tell Them Apart

Abyssinian Thrush

Turdus abyssinicus

Medium67 gForest

It is 22 centimetres (8.7 in) long. This variable forest thrush is generally darker than the African thrush and has an orange (not yellow) bill. It is also darker than the Kurrichane thrush and has no malar stripes. Generally the birds get darker at higher altitudes.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recorded by Anne Ndung'u · Call · Nairobi, Nairobi County, Kenya · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: This image was produced by me, David Castor (user:dcastor). The pictures I submit to the Wikipedia Project are released to the public domain. This gives you the right to use them in any way you like, without any kind of notification. This said, I would still appreciate to be mentioned as the originator whenever you think it complies well with your use of the picture. A message to me about how it has been used would also be welcome. You are obviously not required to respond to these wishes of mine, just in a friendly manner encouraged to. (All my photos are placed in Category:Images by David Castor or a subcategory thereof.) · CC0

Sooty Thrush

Turdus nigrescens

Medium96 gForest

The sooty thrush is 24 to 25.5 cm (9.4 to 10 in) long and weighs about 96 g (3.4 oz). The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males have a mostly brownish black head and body with sooty black lores and an orange eye-ring. Their wings and tail are also sooty black. Adult females resemble males but are browner overall and sometimes have some darker streaks on the throat. Both sexes have a white iris, a yellow-orange bill, and orange legs and feet. Juveniles have dark brown upperparts with buff streaks and buff underparts with dark brown spots. Voice: The sooty thrush's song is "relatively poor, a series of short phrases each repeated 3–6 times with a few seconds’ pause...chuweek chuweek chuweek...seechrrrzit seechrrrzit seechrrrzit...tseeur tseeu tseeur tseeur". Its calls include a "distinctive low grating grrrek or trrrr" that is often repeated, a "thin rolling prrreee", and a "harsh tchweerp, tchweerp".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Dick Culbert from Gibsons, B.C., Canada · CC BY 2.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Abyssinian Thrush and Sooty Thrush.