Grey-backed Thrush

Grey-backed Thrush

Turdus hortulorum

Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Shanghai

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

818 Verified sightings at Shanghai
47 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
January Best month

About the Grey-backed Thrush

The grey-backed thrush (Turdus hortulorum) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It breeds in northeastern China and the Russian Far East and winters in southern China and northern Vietnam. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. A captive bred pair laid five eggs, which hatched 14 days after the first egg was laid. The young left the nest 12 days later.

The grey-backed thrush is a medium-sized Passerine. It is a sexually-dimorphic species, with males having a slate grey back and chest and white chin and belly, with rufous flanks. Females have grey or brown backs, with dark spots on the chest and similar plumage to males on the belly and flanks.

These birds are 20-23 cm long, and weigh a mean 66.7 g (range: 61-69 g). The grey-backed thrush primarily nests and forages in deciduous or evergreen forests with rolling terrain, rarely venturing above 1100 m in elevation. They eat both fruit and insects. The grey-backed thrush is currently listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:48

China · 2025

© Bo Shunqi 薄顺奇 · XC1101767 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song1:07

China · 2024

© Ding Li Yong · XC917334 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Alarm call0:49

China · 2018

© Geoff Carey · XC726233 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cuc Phuong National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~10%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Shanghai 🇨🇳 China
~20%
2 Suzhou 🇨🇳 China
~20%
3 Nanjing 🇨🇳 China
~20%
4 Fuzhou 🇨🇳 China
~20%
5 Changsha 🇨🇳 China
~20%
6 Nanchang 🇨🇳 China
~20%
7 Hangzhou 🇨🇳 China
~20%
8 Seoul 🇰🇷 South Korea
~20%
9 Xiamen City 🇨🇳 China
~20%
10 Gwangju 🇰🇷 South Korea
~20%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Grey-backed Thrush in Shanghai?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Grey-backed Thrush sighting in Shanghai on a given day, based on 818 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 27th most-seen of the 202 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Grey-backed Thrush in Shanghai?

January

In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Grey-backed Thrush in Shanghai on a given day, against under 5% in May to September, the lowest months.

Is Shanghai the best place to see a Grey-backed Thrush?

Yes

Of the 29 cities where we can rate Grey-backed Thrush sightings, Shanghai has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Suzhou (China, about 20%) and Nanjing (China, about 20%).

Which relatives of the Grey-backed Thrush live in Shanghai?

Same genus: Turdus

The closest relatives of the Grey-backed Thrush that you can see in Shanghai (genus Turdus, Typical Thrushes) are Chinese Blackbird (about 90%), Pale Thrush (about 30%) and Dusky Thrush (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Grey-backed Thrush sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Grey-backed Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Shanghai (818 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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