Turdus eunomus
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The dusky thrush (Turdus eunomus) is a member of the thrush family which breeds eastwards from central Siberia to Kamchatka wintering in Korea, Japan, South China and Myanmar. It is closely related to the more southerly breeding Naumann's thrush T. naumanni; the two have often been regarded as conspecific. The scientific name comes from Latin Turdus, "thrush" and Ancient Greek eunomos, "orderly".
This species breeds in open woodland areas, but unlike Naumann's thrush, the dusky thrush is more tolerant of mountainous and tundra-edge habitats. This species is strongly migratory, wintering south to southeast Asia, principally in China and neighbouring countries. It is a rare vagrant to western Europe. In December 2016 a sighting of one in the Derbyshire in the United Kingdom brought hundreds of birdwatchers to see it.
It nests in trees, laying 3-5 eggs in an untidy but neatly lined nest. Migrating birds and wintering birds often form small flocks. It is omnivorous, eating a wide range of insects, especially mosquitoes, earthworms and berries.
This is a medium-sized but stocky thrush, reminiscent in structure of a small fieldfare. The underwing is reddish brown, and there is a pale supercilium. Dusky thrush has a dark brown back and rump; the face, breast, and flank spots rump are black and the belly and undertail are white. Naumann's thrush in comparison has a paler brown back and head; the face, breast, flank spots and rump are reddish, and the belly and undertail are white.
The female is fairly similar to the male, but immatures have a weaker patterning. The male dusky thrush has a simple fluted or whistling song, similar to the redwing. There are suggestions that the songs of dusky and Naumann's thrush differ. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikko National Park | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 2 | Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | |
| 3 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Dusky Thrush sighting in Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 117th most-seen of the 122 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dusky Thrush in Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June–September and December, the lowest months. January–April and October–November have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dusky Thrush sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Dusky Thrush sightings, Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Nikko National Park (Japan, about 20%).
Same genus: Turdus
The closest relatives of the Dusky Thrush that you can see in Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park (genus Turdus, Typical Thrushes) are Red-throated Thrush (about 10%) and Eyebrowed Thrush (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dusky Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park (8 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
