Orange-headed Thrush

Orange-headed Thrush

Scientific Name: Geokichla citrina

Malay Name: Murai-Tanah Jingga Asia

Chinese Name: 橙头地鸫

Range: Found from Indian subcontinent, Southern China to Indochina, wintering to mainland Southeast Asia.

Taxonomy: Polytypic. Subspecies are: citrina, cyanota, innotata, melli, courtoisi, aurimacula, andamanensis, albogularis, aurata, rubecula.

Local Subspecies: innotata, citrina, aurimacula/courtoisi/melli

Size: 20.5-23.5 cm

Identification: Distinctive orange head and underparts and plain grey or brown upperparts distinguish this species from all other thrushes recorded in Singapore. Two subspecies regularly occur in Singapore: citrina, which has faint brown "teardrop" markings on face and white wingbar, and innotata, which lacks the facial markings and wingbar. Rarely recorded are birds with prominent, thick brown facial stripes on a paler face – more prominent than in citrina – which breed in east Asia and may represent any of aurimaculacourtoisi, or melli (collectively referred to as the "aurimacula group").

Habitat: Forest and wooded areas, also occasionally in parks.

Behaviour/Ecology: Forages on the ground for insects but also feeds on fruits.

Local Status: Rare migrant

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2019)

Location: Central Catchment Forest, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Bidadari, Singapore Botanic Gardens and West Coast Park.

Past records in our database:

Showing only accepted records. Note that records currently under review are also not displayed, and the list may not be a full list of records of this species in Singapore. For more details, check the database here.

Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):

Orange-headed Thrush Geokichla citrina
Estimated average number of individuals by week based on eBird data, Jul 2014 to Jun 2024
Peak week Feb 26-Mar 04
Early date 02 Nov 2018
Late date 29 Mar 2014
One of the latest passerine migrants to arrive in Singapore, with only a handful of records before mid-Dec.

References:

BirdLife International. (2019). Geokichla citrina. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22708375A152676506.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula (Vol. 1). Academic Press, London.

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