Black-throated Thrush

Black-throated Thrush (Turdus atrogularis) is a medium thrush whose adult male has a black throat and upper breast contrasting with a grey back and pale belly. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds in the eastern Palearctic, feeds on ground invertebrates and fruit and migrates south to Asian wintering grounds, sometimes mixing with other thrushes and wandering beyond its usual range. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).