Mountain Thrush, Kenya

By Charlie • July 3, 2008 • 2 comments

Mountain Thrush Turdus abyssinicus or Olive Thrush Turdus olivaceus abyssinicus
Aberdare Mountains, Kenya

The thrushes found in the highlands of Kenya are either considered a separate species, Mountain Thrush (eg ‘Birds of Africa south of the Sahara’, Sinclair and Ryan, Struik), or as a northern race of Olive Thrush (’Thrushes’, Hathaway et al, Helm). Either way abyssinicus is a distinct dark, stocky taxon with a yellow eye ring that looks very different to races further south.

mountain thrush kenya

Photos copyright Charlie Moores

Tags: kenya, thrushes

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About the Author

Charlie

Charlie works for an airline and has birded all over the world for twenty years. He wants to be a writer, and thinks no-one would believe his life could be so charmed if he didn't take photos of as many of the birds he sees as possible. Blogging with 10,000 Birds fits his aims, needs, and insecurities perfectly. Really - do birders get much more fortunate than this?

2 Responses to “Mountain Thrush, Kenya”

Klaus Aug 1st, 2008 at 12:33 pm

Looks like a cousin of the American Robin - in posture, bodyshape and size… good shots!
Cheers, Klaus
Marcell Claassen Jul 11th, 2009 at 12:07 pm

Why do thrushes do this to us? All the literature I can find refers to the East & Central African as “abyssinicus”.

I’ve just been comparing some of my photos from Nairobi, Kenya and Ruhengeri (Musanze), Rwanda. The eyering in the Rwanda bird is hardly visible and the overall tone is much lighter.

Will post the two shots onto the blog a bit later and you can have a look.

Cheers
Marcell

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