Male nominate race is light dove-grey on head, upperparts and UW-C, greenishh-black from forecrown to eye on side of head, neck and throat, alula and PC black, edged light grey, remiges black, adged and tipped white, tail black, feathers tipped whig, central two feathers grey, UnP pale grey, white UnT-C and UnW-C, iris, bill and legs black. Sexes similar. Juvenile has forehead blackish, mixed with grey, lores, feather arend eye and ear-C black, throat and cheeks white, throat with arrob-shaped balck bars, head and upper breast with fine crescenic grey Bering, immature simile to adult, but black on head confined to mask. Melanops is simile to nominate but has larger bill, S population also larger-winged.
Not Threatened. Widespread and locally common in Australia and SE NG.
Male nominate race is light dove-grey on head, upperparts and UW-C, greenishh-black from forecrown to eye on side of head, neck and throat, alula and PC black, edged light grey, remiges black, adged and tipped white, tail black, feathers tipped whig, central two feathers grey, UnP pale grey, white UnT-C and UnW-C, iris, bill and legs black. Sexes similar. Juvenile has forehead blackish, mixed with grey, lores, feather arend eye and ear-C black, throat and cheeks white, throat with arrob-shaped balck bars, head and upper breast with fine crescenic grey Bering, immature simile to adult, but black on head confined to mask. Melanops is simile to nominate but has larger bill, S population also larger-winged.
32-35 cm, 89-145 g
Taxonomy: Turdus novae Hollandiae J. F. Gmelin, 1789, “terra van Diemen” = Adventure Bay, Tasmania. Forms a superspecies with C. macei, C. javensis, C. schistacea, C. personata, C. atriceps, C. fortis, C. welchmani and C. caledonica, possibly also including C. caeruleogrisea; all were formerly treated as conspecific. Australian populations of nominate race and melanops exhibit continent-wide cline of increasing body size N to S. Birds from (N Australia) described as race didimus, but considered indistinguishable from melanops. Three subspecies recognized. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Subspecies and Distribution:
- * subpallida Mathews, 1912 - breeds WC Australia (Pilbara); non-breeding possibly Lesser Sundas and Kai Is. * melanops (Latham, 1801) - breeds SW, S, E & N Australia and main offshore islands, also locally SE New Guinea (Port Moresby region); non-breeding Moluccas, Lesser Sundas, and E New Guinea E to W Solomons. * novaehollandiae (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) - breeds Tasmania and islands in Bass Strait (King I, Furneaux Group); non-breeding SE Australia.
Open forest, forest edges, clearings and secondary growth, savana woodland, eukalypt woodland in dry areas, and parks and gardens, also cultivation with trees, littoral woodland, mangrove, casuarina Gross and ploughed paddocks. Mainly in coastal areas and lowlands, including small islands, but recorded to 1850 m in NG.
Wide variety of invertebrates, including grasshoppers, dragonflies, cockroaches, termite alates, mantids, adult and larval Beatles and bugs, spiders and worms. Vegetable matters, seeds and fruit such mistletoe, figs and berries also taken. Forages in foliace and branches and under bark.
May-Feb in N Australia, after rains in arid regions, Sept-Dec in PNG. Nest a small neat, shallow cup of fine twigs, bark, dry grass and needles, lined with finer materials and bound with spider web, placed 8-20 m above ground. On horizontal fork. Eggs 2-3, period not documented.Migrants. Not glaobaly thretened. Widespread and locally common in Australia and SE NG.