Forest Thrush

The forest thrush is 25 to 30 cm (9.8 to 12 in) long and weighs about 100 g (3.5 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies T. l. lherminieri have a mostly warm brown head with thin white lines on the cheeks and ear coverts and a wide yellow eye-ring. Their upperparts, wings, and tail are also warm brown. Their underparts are whitish with buff-edged dark brown scallops. They have a yellow iris, bill, and legs and feet. Juveniles are slightly paler than adults with faint pale streaks on their upperparts and mottling rather than well-defined scallops on their underparts. Subspecies T. l. dominicensis is smaller than the nominate and has darker upperparts, a darker breast with smaller scallops, a white belly, and paler legs. T. l. dorotheae has rufous edges on the throat feathers and more white on the center of the breast feathers than the nominate. T. l. sanctaeluciae is smaller than the nominate with paler upperparts and larger, buffish, scallops on the breast.

Each subspecies of the forest thrush inhabits a different island in the Lesser Antilles. They are found thus:

T. l. lherminieri: Guadeloupe T. l. dominicensis: Dominica T. l. dorotheae: Montserrat T. l. sanctaeluciae: St. Lucia The forest thrush inhabits tropical evergreen forest both primary and secondary. In elevation it ranges from sea level to about 1,000 m (3,300 ft) though it is mostly found at mid- to upper elevations. On Monserrat it favors mature mesic forests with a dense canopy.

The forest thrush feeds on insects and berries. It forages at all levels of the forest.