Siberian Thrush

Siberian Thrush

Scientific Name: Geokichla sibirica

Malay Name: Murai-Tanah Kelabu Tua

Chinese Name: 白眉地鸫

Range: Found from Siberia, Northeast China to Japan, wintering to mainland Southeast Asia and Indonesia.

Taxonomy: Polytypic. Subspecies are: sibirica, davisoni.

Local Subspecies: sibirica

Size: 21.5-23.5 cm

Identification: Male has overall dark slaty plumage, broad white supercilium and white vent dark-scaled undertail-coverts. Female has mainly plain brown upperparts, prominent buffy-whitish supercilium (curved round behind ear-coverts), buffy-whitish underparts with brown scales/molting on breast and flanks. First-winter male shows mixed character of male and female.

Similar looking species: Eyebrowed Thrush, White's Thrush

Habitat: Forest and suitable wooded area.

Behaviour/Ecology: Very shy. Feed mainly on small, soft, fleshy berries but also take insects.

Local Status: Rare migrant

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2016)

Location: Central Catchment Forest, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Dairy Farm Nature Park, Bidadari, Kent Ridge, Jurong Lake Garden, Tuas South and Sentosa.

Featured articles:

Featured reports: Apr 2022, Oct 2022, Nov 2022, Dec 2022, Jan 2023

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):

Siberian Thrush Geokichla sibirica
Estimated average number of individuals by week based on eBird data, Jul 2014 to Jun 2024
Peak week Nov 19-Nov 25
Early date 15 Oct 2022
Late date 28 Apr 2017
A scarce, generally unobtrusive thrush which prefers the high canopy in fruiting trees. Like other thrushes, sometimes comes to the ground to feed.
Siberian Thrush at Dairy Farm Nature Park. Photo credit: Francis Yap
Female Siberian Thrush at Dairy Farm Nature Park. Photo credit: Alan Ng
Juvenile male Siberian Thrush. Photo credit: Myron Tay
Subadult Male Siberian Thrush at Dairy Farm Nature Park. Photo credit: Alan Ng
Female Siberian Thrush at Dairy Farm Nature Park. Photo credit: Alan Ng

External Links:

Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page

Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link

Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link

eBird Species page: eBird (Siberian Thrush)

References:

BirdLife International. (2016). Geokichla sibirica. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22708382A94159126.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.

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Siberian Thrush. Retrieved on May 12, 2025 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/siberian-thrush.

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