Pale Thrush

Pale Thrush (Turdus pallidus) is an East Asian thrush with plain warm-brown upperparts, a greyish head, pale underparts and contrasting dark wings and tail. 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 inhabits temperate forest and wooded gardens, foraging on the ground for earthworms and insects and in trees for fruit; seasonal movements carry birds through and into Japan. 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).