Amami Thrush
Encyclopedia
The Amami Thrush, Zoothera major, is a member of the Thrush
family Turdidae. It is endemic to the islands of Amami Ōshima
and Kakeroma island in the northern Nansei Islands
of Japan
.
This large (30cm), heavily patterned thrush is similar in appearance to the White's Thrush
. It has warm olive-brown to buff upperparts and whitish underparts with heavy black scaling. It has twelve tail feather
s. The White's Thrush is smaller and has fourteen tail feathers. It has a cheerful song similar to the Siberian Thrush
.
Its breeding habitat
is mature subtropical broadleaved evergreen
forest around humid valleys. Its diet includes invertebrate
s and fruit
. It breeds in May and June, laying 3-4 egg
s.
This bird is critically endangered
due to forest clearance. The current population is estimated at less than sixty. Areas of forest have been protected by the government primarily for the conservation of this species and the Lidth's Jay
.
The breeding population is estimated by Amami Ornithologists' Club (NPO, Japan) all over the island every late March since 1999. The total number of singing birds, which may be territory holders, counted were more than 162 in 2006.
. It has been lumped into Zoothera dauma following Collar (2004). As a subspecies its conservation status is no longer classified.
Thrush (bird)
The thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur worldwide.-Characteristics:Thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds, inhabiting wooded areas, and often feed on the ground or eat small fruit. The smallest thrush may be the Forest Rock-thrush, at and...
family Turdidae. It is endemic to the islands of Amami Ōshima
Amami Oshima
is a semi-tropical island in the Amami Islands, which is part of the larger Nansei Islands in Japan. Ōshima literally means big island, and it is the largest of the Amami Islands. It lies roughly halfway between the islands of Okinawa and Kyūshū. Briefly part of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, in 1624 it was...
and Kakeroma island in the northern Nansei Islands
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
This large (30cm), heavily patterned thrush is similar in appearance to the White's Thrush
White's Thrush
The White's Thrush or Scaly Thrush is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It was named after the English naturalist Gilbert White.-Distribution and habitat:...
. It has warm olive-brown to buff upperparts and whitish underparts with heavy black scaling. It has twelve tail feather
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
s. The White's Thrush is smaller and has fourteen tail feathers. It has a cheerful song similar to the Siberian Thrush
Siberian Thrush
The Siberian Thrush, Zoothera sibirica, is a member of the Thrush family Turdidae.It breeds in taiga in Siberia. It is strongly migratory, with most birds moving to southeastern Asia during the winter. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe. It is very secretive.The Siberian Thrush is similar...
.
Its breeding habitat
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...
is mature subtropical broadleaved evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
forest around humid valleys. Its diet includes invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s and fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
. It breeds in May and June, laying 3-4 egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s.
This bird is critically endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
due to forest clearance. The current population is estimated at less than sixty. Areas of forest have been protected by the government primarily for the conservation of this species and the Lidth's Jay
Lidth's Jay
The Lidth's Jay is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to Japan. It is slightly larger than its close relative the Eurasian Jay, with a proportionately stouter bill and also a longer tail...
.
The breeding population is estimated by Amami Ornithologists' Club (NPO, Japan) all over the island every late March since 1999. The total number of singing birds, which may be territory holders, counted were more than 162 in 2006.
Taxonomic note
Since 2006 this taxon is no longer recognised by BirdLife InternationalBirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
. It has been lumped into Zoothera dauma following Collar (2004). As a subspecies its conservation status is no longer classified.