Eyebrowed Thrush

Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus) is a medium thrush with a grey head, strong white eyebrow, olive-brown back and orange-buff breast and flanks. 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 dense conifer forest and taiga from Siberia and Mongolia east to Japan, feeds on invertebrates and berries and migrates strongly to China and Southeast Asia for winter. 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).