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26

Russet-tailed Thrush (Zoothera heinei) Size: 26-29 cm Weight: 100 g (average)

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Russet-tailed Thrushes are rainforest birds. Their plumage is highly cryptic. They have a scaly pattern basically all over their body, with a near-white front with mid- to dark-brown scales on the front and some light-brown tint on the chest. The back is almsot all olive-brown, with near-black scales. The eyes are surrounded by a light-grey eye-ring and lores. The wing feathers are dark greyish-brown with lighter-brown leading edges. The rump is russet-coloured, with darker scales. The tail is also russet-brown. The eyes have dark-brown irises. The bill is grey, the legs and feet are pinkish-grey. Twitcher's tip Compared with Bassian Thrushes, Russet-tailed Thrushes have paler colours on the head and especially the median wing coverts and are richer russet brown on rump and uppertail.

Taxonomy, classification See Russet-tailed Thrush at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Russet-tailed Thrush is available HERE . Russet-tailed Thrushes are found in eastern Australia and in parts of New Guinea. Russet-tailed Thrushes, race "heinei", are endemic to Australia. They populate a narrow strip along the East coast of Australia, from about the Manning River, NSW, in the South to about Eungella NP, QLD, in the North. Twitcher's tip Russet-tailed Thrushes are found mostly in low-elevation rainforest, whereas Bassian Thrushes are found mostly in rainforest at higher altitudes, e.g. on the Dorrigo Plateau (in Dorrigo NP).

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "heinei" Russet-tailed Thrushes, nominate race "heinei", were first seen by us at Wingham Brush NR in June 2011 and again in September 2011. This location is on the southern border of their range, in the Manning River estuary. B. Hensen reports spotting a Russet-tailed Thrush, race "heinei", at Dorrigo NP, NSW, in February 2013. A. Ross-Taylor reports finding a Russet-tailed Thrush, race "heinei", at O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, QLD, in July 2017. M. Eaton reports spotting a Russet-tailed Thrush, race "heinei", at Brookfield, Brisbane, QLD, in December 2017. V. Collins reports finding a Russet-tailed Thrush, race "heinei", at Wingham Brush NR in January 2021.

Photos

Race "heinei"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Russet-tailed Thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Brookfield, Brisbane, QLD, December 2017]

Near-lateral view of a Russet-tailed Thrush on the ground in dense rainforest
[Wingham Brush NR, NSW, September 2011]

Close-up lateral view of a Russet-tailed Thrush (photo courtesy of V. Collins)
[Wingham Brush NR, NSW, January 2021]

Lateral view of a Russet-tailed Thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Brookfield, Brisbane, QLD, December 2017]

Close-up lateral view of a Russet-tailed Thrush (photo courtesy of V. Collins)
[Wingham Brush NR, NSW, January 2021]

Lateral view of a Russet-tailed Thrush (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Dorrigo NP, NSW, February 2013]

Lateral/ventral view of a Russet-tailed Thrush
[Wingham Brush NR, NSW, September 2011]

Dorsal view of a Russet-tailed Thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Brookfield, Brisbane, QLD, December 2017]

Food, Diet

Like all ground thrushes known to us, Russet-tailed Thrushes feed on small insects, grubs and worms that they find in soft soil or under leaf litter in dense, wet forests.

This Russet-tailed Thrush is seen foraging in leaf litter
[Wingham Brush NR, NSW, September 2011]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Thu, 2 February 2023, 5:10 +00:00