Dark-throated thrush
| Dark-throated Thrush | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Turdus ruficollis Pallas, 1776 |
The Dark-throated Thrush, Turdus ruficollis, is a passerine bird in the thrush family. It has two races: T. r. atrogularis, the Black-throated Thrush, and T. r. ruficollis, the Red-throated Thrush. These are sometimes considered different species. The Dark-throated Thrush is a migratory Asian taiga species, while the ruficollis variant breeds further east, but the ranges overlap.
These are large thrushes with a plain grey back and reddish underwings. The adult male atrogularis has a black throat, while ruficollis has a red throat. Females and young birds lack the bib, but have black-streaked underparts.
This bird species is a rare vagrant to western Europe. Most visitors are of the black-throated form.