Scaly Thrush

The scaly thrush is a member of the thrush family, 27 to 31cm long, with the sexes similar and black scaling on a paler white or yellowish background. The most striking identification feature in flight is the black band on the white underwings, shared with most other Zoothera thrushes. It is omnivorous, eating a wide range of insects, earthworms and berries (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds in dense wet forests in the Himalayas east through south-western China to northern Indochina, with disjunct populations, possibly separate species, on Iriomote Island off southern Japan and on Sumatra and Java. It nests in trees, laying three or four dull green eggs in a neat cup nest. The male's song is a loud, far-carrying mechanical whistle with pauses of 5 to 10 seconds between phrases.