
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
How to identify
Field marks
- A single black band across the white underwing in flight
- Black scaling on a whitish or yellowish-white background
- 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
- Nanhui DongtanChina563 records
- Yeliu IBATaiwan (China)263 records
- Century ParkChina215 records
More places
- Po ToiHong Kong (China)214 records
- Jinshan – Jinshan Youth Activity CenterTaiwan (China)163 records
- Hangzhou Botanical GardenChina141 records
- Eocheong-do (island)South Korea135 records
- Happy IslandChina133 records
- Tai Lam Country ParkHong Kong (China)123 records
- Dasyueshan IBA – Xiaoxueshan Lodge (50K)Taiwan (China)120 records
Countries and regions with the most records
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
Long-tailed ThrushZoothera dixoni
Alpine ThrushZoothera mollissima
Himalayan ThrushZoothera salimalii
Sichuan ThrushZoothera griseiceps
Long-billed ThrushZoothera monticola
GeomaliaZoothera heinrichi
Dark-sided ThrushZoothera marginata
Everett's ThrushZoothera everetti
Sunda ThrushZoothera andromedae
Scaly ThrushZoothera dauma
Nilgiri ThrushZoothera neilgherriensis
Sri Lanka ThrushZoothera imbricata
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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