Blue Whistling-thrush

Raillay Penninsula, Krabi, Thailand

A common species with a very wide distribution right across Asia. It prefers  temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. There are several subspecies. Blue whistling-thrushes are mostly terrestrial forest dwellers.

Feeding

They are omnivores and their diet is wide ranging and includes crabs and snails which it batters on rocks and stones before consuming. Note the bird in the photograph above with a snail in its beak. They also feed on insects, earthworms, and fruit.

Breeding

Both parents construct the typical thrush's cup shaped nest of roots and mosses although unlike many thrushes, which nest in bushes or trees, they choose a ledge or cavity near a stream. The female lays three to four eggs with often two broods per year and parents share responsibility for raising the altricial chicks.