The Taita thrush (Turdus helleri ), also known as the Taita olive thrush or Heller's ground thrush, is an endangered bird from the family of thrushes (Turdidae), endemic to the Taita Hills in Kenya.
Te
TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
No
Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
T
starts withThe Taita thrush was previously classified as subspecies of the olive thrush (Turdus olivaceus ), but it is regarded as distinct species since 1985. It reaches a length between 20 and 22 centimetres. Head, breast and upperparts are coloured darkly. The underparts are white and the flanks have a rufous hue. The eyes and the bill exhibit a pale orange coloration. It was named after zoologist Edmund Heller (1875–1939) a workmate of the American ornithologist Edgar Alexander Mearns (1856–1916) who described this species scientifically in 1913.
The Taita thrush is a forest-dependent endemic bird confined to four forests in the Taita Hills (in the south east of Kenya): Mbololo, Chawia, Yale and Ngangao. The forests cover a tiny 342 ha. Conservationists are using birds – with the thrush as the flagship species – to champion the conservation of the Taita Hills forests.
It is restricted to montane moist forests. Despite its natural native habitat having been severely logged in the past, it has avoided forests with secondary growth, shrub vegetation, and cultivated areas. Extensive research has shown only very few migrations between the fragmented populations.