White's Thrush (Zoothera aurea)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

White's Thrush

Zoothera aurea (Holandre, 1825)

≈30 cmLength134 gWeight

It is covered in black scaling and shows a single black band across the white underwing in flight.

Busiest months: December–January, April and October · Most records: China, South Korea, Japan

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. A single black band across the white underwing in flight
  2. Black scaling on a whitish or yellowish-white background
  3. Body length 27–31 cm

Male, female and young

Sexes similar.

Voice

The male’s song is a loud, far-carrying, mechanical whistle, each phrase lasting about a second, with pauses of 5–10 seconds.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: December–January, April and October · Most records: China, South Korea, Japan

White's Thrush has been recorded at 603 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 20 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Nanhui DongtanChina563 records
  2. Yeliu IBATaiwan (China)263 records
  3. Century ParkChina215 records
More places
  1. Po ToiHong Kong (China)214 records
  2. Jinshan – Jinshan Youth Activity CenterTaiwan (China)163 records
  3. Hangzhou Botanical GardenChina141 records
  4. Eocheong-do (island)South Korea135 records
  5. Happy IslandChina133 records
  6. Tai Lam Country ParkHong Kong (China)123 records
  7. Dasyueshan IBA – Xiaoxueshan Lodge (50K)Taiwan (China)120 records

Countries and regions with the most records

ChinaSouth KoreaJapanThailandVietnamMongoliaPhilippinesUnited Kingdom

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

White's thrush (Zoothera aurea) is a member of the thrush family, Turdidae. It was named after the English naturalist Gilbert White. The genus name Zoothera comes from the Ancient Greek zoon, "animal" and theras, "hunter".

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the White's Thrush?

The White's Thrush is about ≈30 cm long and weighs around 134 g.

Where does the White's Thrush live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: eastern. It is most often recorded in China, South Korea and Japan.

When is the best time to see the White's Thrush?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January, April, October and December (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the White's Thrush endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the White's Thrush as Least Concern.

What does the White's Thrush eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the White's Thrush in?

It belongs to the family Thrushes (Turdidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length
≈30 cm
Weight
134 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Varied
Migration
Migratory
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
158 mm
Tail
106 mm
Bill
30 mm
Tarsus
35 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Palearctic: eastern

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 1
  • Zoothera aurea toratugumi se Russia, Korea, Sakhalin, Kuril Is. and Japan | non-breeding: e China

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Thrushes Turdidae
Genus
Zoothera

Other birds in the genus Zoothera

White's Thrush

Download illustration

Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Charles Lam. ↗

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